Improve Your Social Media and You’ll Land Sales Jobs

Improve Your Social Media and You’ll Land Sales Jobs: You already use social media when searching for sales jobs, but you probably didn’t think someone is out there researching you at the very same time. Recruiters are increasingly looking at your profiles to find out more personal information, including your hobbies and interests.

In fact, 76 percent of recruiters surveyed in the MedReps What Recruiters Want survey said they first look online before contacting job seekers. They’re trying to gain insight into who you are as both a person and professional to determine the best cultural fit for their clients.

Traditionally, job seekers kept their personal lives shut-off from their professional lives, however, social media is where you can provide compelling insight to entice recruiters to place you in their top jobs — and they are looking for a window into both.

Here’s how to use your online profiles to generate the attention you need to land your dream sales job:

1) Eliminate the negative

You make a point to keep your social media posts appropriate and relevant. But unless you edit and remove outdated or questionable posts as well, you’re leaving potentially-damaging data online for recruiters to find. That includes photos and status updates that you’ve long since forgotten about.

This content can hurt your chances at landing sales jobs. In fact, 88 percent of recruiters surveyed in the MedReps What Recruiters Want survey said when they find inconsistencies or damaging information on candidate’s social media, they remove that candidate from further consideration.

This does not mean you should lock down your profiles. Instead, do a full inventory of your posts as far back as you can go. Read through your live feeds through a recruiter’s eyes. If you have posted any less-than-professional content, be sure to only share that with your closest friends. Keep everything relevant to your professional ambitions available for recruiters to assess.

2) Accentuate the positive

Once you’ve removed potentially-damaging information, it’s time to highlight your strong-suits.

Recruiters want to see involvement that goes beyond mere work duties. They are looking for social proof of who you say you are when you apply, and social media is where you connect with people you engage with most. Of the recruiters surveyed in the MedReps What Recruiters Want survey, 63 percent said they want to see an increased social media presence in candidates.

One way to ramp up this presence is to think of your social media profiles like a sales presentation. You’ll highlight the positives and provide more information than what’s readily available to clients, or in this case, recruiters.

Post photos of volunteer activities and involvement in personal causes and events (such as charity walks and endurance challenges) that showcase your unique character and what you’re passionate about. This demonstrates you’re a well-rounded candidate who takes personal values seriously.

3) Create compelling content

You should also create and post industry-related content such as articles and presentations that show recruiters what you know and what you’re able to do.

Recruiters look at who’s following you and how you engage with them. They want to see involvement beyond merely posting a stream of content.

You should actively participate with your social media audience, including following back, re-tweeting, sharing links, and more. This demonstrates that while others find value in what you’re posting, you, in turn, have a genuine interest in what your professional peers are doing and learning about.

As you post to different platforms, make sure to offer unique material, rather than just posting the same content everywhere. This shows recruiters that you understand the intricacies of social media and what your followers most like/want. It also demonstrates that you’re able to re-package similar content to appeal to diverse audiences.

4) Grow your online network

The heart of social media is social activity. This means you should be open to making new contacts. Many recruiters actively search for mutual contacts and then reach out to make a connection.

They also find shared groups and will strike up a conversation with you online. Rather than shy away, you should embrace this opportunity to interact on a more intimate level.

While they gain insight about you, you’ll also learn valuable information about them that you can use to land the job. For instance, when you find out who their clients are, you can highlight truthful personal data that you know is important to those clients.

When you know what kind of jobs recruiters source for, you can gauge how your skills and experience prove you’d be an ideal candidate for one of those roles. This demonstrates you’d be a good fit for their talent pool.

You can also use information you learn to make a personal connection with the recruiter (favorite sports team, mutual clubs and organizations). This helps build rapport, which gives you a leg up over the competition.

Rather than hide your social media from public view, give recruiters what they want. Use online profiles to your advantage by highlighting your positive points, and demonstrating your sales knowledge. Take advantage of every opportunity to make a memorable connection.

How do you use social media in the job search? Let us know in the comments!