How social media will land your dream job

Well, maybe won’t land the job of your dreams but social media can definitely be a great help. Social media is now an extra tool used by companies as part of their recruiting selection process. 

Depending on how you restrict and control your privacy on sites like Facebook, a recruiter or manager can learn a great deal of information that could, and probably will, influence his/her decision to interview or even hire you.

So it’s very important that you get out there and see what your social media profiles and presence looks like through a recruiter’s eyes. Have you tried googling yourself? Have you done it on other major search engines like Yahoo and MSN?

In a previous post, My Top 4 Social Media Profiles for Professionals, I mentioned Linkedin, Google, Facebook and VisualCV as tools to develop an online identity and reputation; in this post we'll have a look at different tools.

Twitter is a great for job searches, not only because of the great keyword search functionality, but also because you can easily form connections with others in your industry across the world.

Connect with friends and others in your niche.  Do a Twitter search for keywords that pertain to the industry you are looking to work on.  There are many job recruiters on Twitter who post jobs daily, so follow and interact with them.

Check out Twellow to find people who work at companies you’re researching. It is the Twitter yellow pages and quite useful when looking for someone or something on Twitter.

Start blogging about your industry. Having your own blog about your industry is a great way to impress potential employers. A blog will not only give you the opportunity to establish your personal brand, but it will help you become seen as an expert in your field.

There’s no better interview preparation than teaching your readers about your field. Having this blog has definitely helped me out in many ways, so here, I’m speaking from experience.

Check if the companies you’d like to work for have a blog. If so, comment and be active; not only will it get you on their radar, it will also arm you with knowledge about the company that will be good interview fodder and help you learn more about where that organisation stands on particular issues, which might avoid awkward answers in the interview room.

Slideshare allows you to upload presentations, with videos and audio if you like, and share them with others. It is one of my favourite tools and I’ve been learning a lot from it. Create a presentation about your area of interest that teaches something and surely people will download it and share it helping you spreading the word. Additionally you can share your Slideshare presentations on Linkedin and Facebook.

And lastly, don't forget your friends. "Hey guys, I'm on the lookout for a new challenge, any of your companies looking for a young and motivated marketing assistant?" Posting a message via several social networks is definitely worth a try and a good way to get leads especially for fresh grads or students looking for internships.

If you have any tips please add them here.

The Porsche 911 Facebook edition

Porsche has achieved yet another milestone, the fastest 1,000,000 Facebook fans in automotive history. The German automaker thought of celebrating by coming out with a special exhibition inside the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart solely dedicated to a unique custom-made 2011 Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid.

If you take a closer look you will see that the car comes complete with the signatures of over 27,000 Facebook Porsche fans. 

If you’re one of the 'lucky' ones to have your name there you’ll be able to find it on the Porsche website.

I'd love to meet anyone who owns one.

Magnum offers online game for pleasure seekers

Here is the latest global campaign from Magnum, this time to launch the all new Magnum Temptation Hazelnut ice-cream.

 

This creative, fun, interactive online campaign was created by the agency Lowe Brindfors from Sweden where a pretty woman (a professional ballet dancer) in a chocolate brown dress, takes you across a number of rewarding joys such as safari holidays, spa resorts, and shopping offers with the goal of finding the ultimate pleasure.

Once you are done with the pleasure hunt you can, of course, challenge your Facebook friends.

I love the concept and execution, but maybe a little too long. Give it a try, it’s worth it.

Play now.

OFF TOPIC - ‘Save Japan, Pray for Japan’ charity concert on April 18

The triple disaster in Japan – earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis- had a devastating impact on the minds of the people across the globe. People across the globe have joined hands to lend them moral as well as financial support in every way possible.

Sakura- Kai, group formed by Japanese women married to Omanis under the umbrella of Oman – Japan Friendship Association, is holding a classical charity concert and auction titled ‘Save Japan, Pray for Japan’. The charity concert will be held at Al Jibreen Ballroom, Intercontinental hotel on Monday April 18, 2011 at 6 pm. The concert is performed by professional international artist based in Oman for charity.

An auction will also be conducted prior to the event, the proceeds of which will further help in raising funds for the people of Japan. All are requested to make contributions and donations as well at the entrance.

‘The aim of the concert is to raise funds for the victims of the Japan’s triple disaster. We want to help them in all possible ways’ said Suad M. Al Mudhaffar, chairperson of Sakura-Kai. She added ‘Sakura-Kai which means Cherry blossoms which blooms during the spring is a beautiful sight. We would like to bring back the beauty and happiness in the lives of the people in Japan like how the cherry blossoms delight the onlookers and gives a sense of hope.

In spite of all the hardships, the Japan government has taken the undaunted efforts to continue with the educations of children by renovating schools immediately after the disaster so that children continue with their education. Suad explained ‘Children are the future of the nation and we would like to support them in their education as well.’

Suad also wishes to send across the message regarding nuclear power plants. She says, ‘Though nuclear power plants helps in the development of the country, it is devastating as well. Each and every one of us should think about ways to save energy and contribute to the nation in the save energy campaign which will help in avoiding more nuclear power plants in future.’

All proceeds from the event and the auction will be entirely deposited in the account ‘Friends of Japan’ by Bank Dhofar organized by Embassy of Japan. A welcome drink is available for one Rial at the entrance of Al Jibreen Ballroom , the proceeds of which also be donated. Contact Suad M. Al Mudhaffar at 24491121 or 99330821, email suad0821@omantel.net.om  for tickets or to make your generous contribution. Each and every donation is valuable.

Thank you.

Top 10 tweets of all time

The first Tweet ever!

Twitter co-founder arrested during a protest in Manhalla, Egypt

The Morning after Election Day the new President tweeted at 11.34am

NASA telling the world about the discovery via Twitter

"There's a plane in the Hudson. I'm on the ferry going to pick up the people.Crazy."

Ashton Kutcher Vs CNN. Kutcher got to 1 million fans first!

NBC reporter asking US Air Force to allow a team from Doctors Without Borders to land in quake-stricken Haiti.

From space to cyberspace.

Library not only about books!

@SarahPalinUSA Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn't it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls repudiate.

(Sarah Palin making news for wrong reasons and deleted the tweet!!!)

Top 25 global brands on Facebook

#	Name	Fans	Monthly Growth
1.	Coca-Cola	24 087 699	+5.41%
2.	Starbucks	20 419 122	+2.95%
3.	Disney	18 904 708	+7.22%
4.	Oreo	17 537 745	+3.63%
5.	Red Bull	16 691 299	+7.58%
6.	Skittles	15 710 729	+2.51%
7.	Converse All Star	15 035 549	+16.12%
8.	Converse	13 586 107	+18.00%
9.	Victoria's Secret	12 152 802	+4.38%
10.	iTunes	12 115 941	+14.02%
11.	PlayStation	11 646 517	+27.08%
12.	Windows Live Messenger	11 257 693	+15.17%
13.	Pringles	11 107 501	+21.18%
14.	Monster Energy	9 449 395	+9.33%
15.	Ferrero Rocher	9 022 036	+16.76%
16.	Nutella	8 519 664	+10.57%
17.	Victoria's Secret Pink	8 460 369	+4.68%
18.	ZARA	8 447 169	+3.79%
19.	Dr Pepper	8 384 397	+4.18%
20.	adidas Originals	8 283 499	+16.05%
21.	Xbox	8 102 815	+18.66%
22.	Starburst	7 989 779	+4.78%
23.	Disney Pixar	7 896 317	+4.47%
24.	McDonald's	7 689 142	+4.50%
25.	Reese's	6 706 963	+2.34%

Data provided from our friends at

Durex goes into extra time

Durex, to promote its new model, came up with a very interesting way to sponsor football matches in Thailand. The Durex Performa contains a special lube, Benzocaine, which is meant to prolong your experience and therefore give you some "extra time".

So when extra time comes during a football game you will see the referee holding this giant condom wrapper…uhhmm….electronic board.

The brilliant idea was the brainchild of Thai advertising agency McCann Erickson, which perfectly communicated this benefit in a simple and memorable way using a media that the target, men, would understand instantly.

What makes this even funnier is that they are using these extra time boards in Bangkok.