A brief and basic description on how to use social media and mobile technology in your job search.

1. How to Use Social Media
in Your Job Search
Bill O’Connor
Technical Recruiter
nAblement
boconnor@nablement.com
312-420-0576

2. Who am I and why I’m here!
 Technical Recruiter for nAblement
 nAblement is a unique channel of SPR Companies focused on
supporting the training, mentoring, networking, placement and
professional growth of qualified candidates with disabilities into
technology roles.
 Also work with veterans and entry-level candidates
 Help Desk, Web Accessibility, QA and Software Testing among others
 Communications Chairperson for ITKAN
 Strong IT candidate with passion and a solid IT background? Please
contact me / obtain my contact info. after the presentation

3.  Information and Social Media Specialist for AbilityLinks
 AbilityLinks is a nationwide, web-based community where qualified job seekers with
disabilities and inclusive employers meet and gain access to valuable networking
opportunities.
 If you're an equal opportunity employer seeking to identify qualified candidates with
disabilities, you can use AbilityLinks to post jobs, search resumes, and
receive applications and resumes from AbilityLinks job seekers. There is no charge
to post a job or search resumes.
 If you're a person with disability, you are protected by equal opportunity employment
law and subject to affirmative action by federal contractors. You can take advantage
of your protected status by using AbilityLinks to post a resume and apply for jobs.
Who am I and why I’m here!

4. How the Job Search Terrain
Has Changed
 1995 – CareerBuilder founded, now 2nd largest
job-posting website in the United States (behind
Indeed.com)
 1997 – One million websites, the birth of
blogging
 2003 – LinkedIn founded, now has 200 million
users worldwide (2012)
 2005 – Eight billion websites on Earth
 2009 - Facebook ranked as the most-used social
network worldwide with more than 200 million
members
 2012 – World’s top ten social networks are
Facebook, Blogger, Twitter, Wordpress, LinkedIn,
Pinterest, Google+, Tumblr, MySpace and
Wikia.

5. What is Social Media?
 Generated media to strengthen and
promote consumers and vendors
 Media for interaction between
people, including employers and
candidates.
 The sharing of information on the Internet
with a group of people
 Created Web pages with information, no
matter how simple or complex

6. What’s the Case for Social Media
in My Job Search?
 Gives you a “face” and shows
your personality
 Applying to job board is
necessary, but it’s a bit
impersonal
 When a recruiter looks for you in
a traditional sense, you are just
one more candidate
 It is imperative that you need to
stand above a typical resume

7. Where do I Start with a Social
Media based job search?
 Changing your job search thinking
and framework – the rules are
changing!
 Not only is it “what” you know, but
“who” you know…even if you don’t
know them!
 The biggest and most basic –
Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook
 Moving your job search to your
smartphone & tablet.

8. Let’s Talk Networking…
 Networking – Far and away the #1 way to
find a job like at today’s events
 Meaning of the word “Friend” has morphed
into a whole different meaning.
 Valuing your brand on social networks is
very important
 As time passes, as you interact on social
media networks, your name and brand
becomes valuable…but it takes work
 Networking is a game with a great payoff if
you do it the right way.

9. Is there a downside to a social-
media framework to your job
search?
 Temptation to lose your focus
on the matter at hand
 Intros., connections and SM
friendships lose more value
because of repetition of the
task
 Easy to miss gold-mine
contacts once your contact
streams are working at an
optimal level

10. What type of social media contributors
are out there?
Connector
GuruSeller

11. Which kind of person would you like to
be in the Social Media Universe?
 Connector – Adds as many
contacts, friends & followers as
possible and uses these contacts to
market themselves
 Guru – The expert on certain topics
at hand, and proving this through
great posts, tweets and outreach on
groups
 Seller – A small amount of people
that have mastered the social media
interface, or it’s a bot, but if you are
being pitched to, move away and
focus…or start selling yourself!

12. Finding Leverage with Social Media
Start with LinkedIn!
Add everyone that you have had
a positive work experience with
in the last 15 years that you find
on LinkedIn
Recommendations are vital to
making your LinkedIn brand
strong and productive, as long
they aren’t obvious trades –
REACH OUT TO
COLLEAGUES!

13. Tweet-rific Networking on Twitter
• Follow others, and they’ll follow
you back. Your interest = their
interest
• Import your address book into
Twitter
• Can you write interesting things
in 140 characters?
• Gain valuable ground with link
shorteners – bit.ly
• # (Did Bill forget something?)
#boc333
• Link to LinkedIn on Twitter –
have two birds tweet for you!

14. Using your smartphone to look for
work rather than play Angry Birds
 CareerBuilder has an excellent mobile app!
 Instant sign in, so you don’t have to re-enter your
information each time you search.
 Option to only see jobs that you can apply to using
your phone.
 “Mobile” designation next to postings, making it
easier to identify mobile-apply enabled jobs.
 Ability to use a résumé already saved in the
CareerBuilder database.
 “Apply without a résumé” option for those who aren’t
a CareerBuilder user or don’t have an applicable
résumé, leading you instead to a brief form with
questions about your background and experience.
You don’t throw
me at walls that
much anymore!

15. Using Apps to Optimize Your
Search
 Business Card Reader &
CardMunch takes a pic of your
business cards and inserts them in
your address book
 Compliment your networking with
your phone – ask contacts about
LinkedIn availability, talk on Twitter
and Facebook about industry trends
 Its not the Alpha and Omega of your
job-searching tools, but your phone
can be a great personal assistant in
your job search, just like in every
facet of your life.

16. Final Thoughts
 Social Networking is another ground to
excavate regarding your job search
 The tactics of your very different from
your old job search, but the creed is the
same – it is who you know first in your job
search, then you can talk about what you
know!
 Networking objectives are the same
 Be efficient in your job search thru your
phone.

17. Questions?
Technical Recruiter
nAblement
boconnor@nablement.com
312-420-0576
Information and Social Media Specialist
AbilityLinks
boconnor@abilitylinks.org