Connect to Get a Job

Welcome back to the final module and the final lesson of this course. I want to start by asking you a few questions. Do you use social media? This can include apps such as Twitter or Instagram. How do you use social media? Have you ever used it to advance your career? Well in this last lesson, we are going to learn how professionals just like you use social media to network and find new job opportunities. Already, many professionals are advertising their career objectives through post, which helps them connect with potential employers and important connection to get new positions. So we are also going to learn how to create effective postings to help you increase your chances of landing a job in your field. Now you may not be looking for a job at this moment, but at any moment you decide to switch companies or careers, what you learn in this lesson will help you start down that path. So let’s learn some important tips on how to make these postings and start a conversation between you and a future employer. In the first posting, you’re going to write a quick introduction and express your goal, which in this case is to look for a job. To do that, you can use the first sentence of your e-portfolio summary, which we learned in our first module. This sentence should look something like this. I’m an IT manager with 10 years of experience, and I’m looking for a job. If this part looks too simple to you, you can use other expressions such as I’m seeking employment, I’m looking for a new job opportunity, or I’m exploring new career options. After this first job post, it is likely that job recruiters or fellow professionals are going to make comments, possibly directing you to job posts or opportunities they’re aware of. For example, a fellow professional could comment on your post by writing, I found a job that you might be interested in, or check out this job posting with perhaps the link. This is where you can continue the networking and the conversation by responding and asking more about the job. As you know, there are two types of questions in English, yes/no and WH questions. Which type of question is used to ask for specific information? It is much better to ask a WH question because they will produce specific information as answers. For example, you may need to ask how do I get in touch with them, or what is the length of this job? Let’s look at a sample social media conversation between Sara, a professional architect, and a recruiter that saw what she posted. In this exchange of comments and responses, you can see how asking specific questions can be useful to find out important information about a job. And of course, it has created an opportunity to expand your network and get yourself recognized by potential employers. This kind of networking through posts and comments is something you can do easily on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn. However, because LinkedIn is very specific to job related networking, the posting should be done within a group related to your field of interest. This will make your post more effective and reach the right audience. One last tip that I want to give you is to use hashtags for your job title or area of interest. Using hashtags will increase the chances of your posts being viewed by more people. In the case of Sara, she can add hashtags like #architect or #architecture on her post. What about you? What kind of hashtags do you think you’d use for your job seeking post? Now, if you want to work in a specific city or country, adding a hashtag with the desired location is recommended. In resources, find a list of some other helpful information about writing about jobs, and how to do that for different types of social media. Let’s recap what we’ve learned. In today’s lesson, we’ve learned how to network on social media to find new job opportunities. We’ve learned that networking to get a job requires posting a brief but direct message that you’re looking for a job, and asking specific information questions to help connect better with future recruiters and to find the ideal job for you. We should also try and use hashtags effectively to increase viewers. This is the last lesson of our course. I hope you were able to build a great ePortfolio in English, and learn a little bit more about using English grammar and writing while setting up each part. This ePortfolio is now something that represents who you are as a professional and what you do best with your skills. I hope it helps you reach many of your professional goals. It was a great pleasure for me to be your instructor for this course. Other courses in our specialization include one on writing professional emails and another on speaking professionally in English. I recommend that you check them out before doing the Capstone course to wrap up all the knowledge you have gained for your professional advancement. Thank you very much for participating, and I hope to connect with you on LinkedIn and Twitter. Goodbye.