Putting Social Media to Work for You

While the economy seems to be improving, the job market remains tough, and getting that sought after internship remains as competitive a process as ever. Since everyone strives to have a great cover letter and resume, how do you stand out? How do you land that interview?

Even if you’re not a Web wizard, I would encourage you to think about developing some sort of professional Web presence (this means going beyond Facebook and Twitter accounts) and pointing to this Web site or blog in your application materials. As you know, seemingly every internship and job listing these days says it wants candidates with strong social media skills and knowledge. Everyone can claim they are strong in this area, but if I am an employer, I want you to show me.

Having your own Web site or blog helps show that you “walk the talk” and “get it.” Here are several painless ways to establish a professional Web presence that you can then direct employers to in your resume and cover letter, as well as discuss during your interviews:

1. Set up an account with LinkedIn and activate your public profile if you haven’t already. Your LinkedIn profile can be turned into a public resume with a Web link that can be easily shared. Here is my public LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mattragas

2. Create a Google Profile. Not only does creating a Google Profile help control what people see when they search for your name, but the profile also provides a handy Web link that can be shared. Here is the link to get started: http://www.google.com/profiles/me and an example of my profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/matt.ragas

3. Create a social media business card with card.ly. If you really want to show off your social media chops, sign up for a free account with card.ly where you can display your social media accounts, Web feeds/streams and contact info all in one place. You can then embed your social media profile on Web sites and blogs, as well as share a public Web link to your card. Here is an example of mine: card.ly

4. Create a free blog that serves as your online resume. A blog offers a great opportunity to “tell your story” to a potential employer by including a short bio sketch, resume, portfolio, clips, etc. A new blogging platform I started using recently and find easy to use is called posterous. Other platforms include Blogger, WordPress, TypePad and tumblr.

5. Personalize your blog with your own domain name. Most blogging platforms now offer support for what’s called domain mapping. For example, let’s say we were using Blogger for setting up our professional blog. With domain mapping, instead of having to type in: BestResumeEver.Blogspot.com, we could just type in BestResumeEver.com. Registering a domain name these days is pretty easy (check out GoDaddy.com) and the instructions on most blogging platforms on how to set up domain mapping is fairly straightforward. I use TypePad and domain mapping for my professional blog: http://www.mattragas.com

The first four tips are all free. All they cost you is an investment of time, effort, and some creativity. The fifth tip (domain mapping) shouldn’t cost you more than twenty dollars a year to register your own domain name. None of these tips require having hard core Web design skills. Bottom-line, if employers say they want social media skills and knowledge, then show them you have them. A professional blog or Web site is one way to get this conversation started.

Matt Ragas is a Ph.D. candidate and instructor in the Department of Public Relations. He may be contacted at mragas@ufl.edu. In addition to his professional blog (www.mattragas.com), he maintains restaurant review (www.flfoodhound.com) and family (www.ragasreport.com) blogs.