In a recent SmartBrief poll analysis, I mentioned one of the growing trends of the future will be recruiters and staffing firms scouting prospects through social networks. Do job seekers need to get social too because of this shift?
In today’s competitive job market, job seekers are certainly jumping on the social bandwagon and doing whatever it takes to get the attention of recruiters by launching short-term social media campaigns to set themselves apart from other candidates.
It is becoming the norm for people to go beyond sending their resume to a company. Many job seekers are using innovative tactics to capture interest and create buzz. Some of these tactics include sending video cover letters, uploading video pitches to YouTube, designing creative infographs instead of text resumes, purchasing Facebook social ads, or even tweeting their way into a job.
A tech-savvy job seeker, Meetu Singhal of Las Vegas took the creative approach and recently launched a social media campaign on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to try to obtain a job interview for a social media position at Zappos.
I was able to get the inside scoop from Meetu. Let’s see what she had to say:
1. What is your professional background?
I have extensive experience in marketing and communication – conventional and online media. With an overall experience of 11 years and the last five years in providing consulting services to U.S. and Canada based start-ups on online marketing, social media marketing, conversational marketing, community building, crowdsourcing, e-commerce, and analytics.
I have a deep understanding of the latest web technologies and how to leverage such technologies for social commerce is what I bring to the table.
2. When did you first discover you had a passion for social media?
In 2006, I was recovering from some health complications and surgery, and I was working from home for a U.S.-based start-up that was engaged in building community for professionals in the Insurance and Finance industries. My duties included setting up virtual conference events, webinars, email marketing, etc.
After just a few days of working there, I realized that there was a need for doing something that will enable them to generate content collaboratively, and that is when my social media journey began. I helped the founders launch their online presence by setting set up their community blog, podcasts, etc. As you know in 2006, not too many people knew how to set up a blog or how to engage a community for that matter.
Later, I was a part of creating an online community for thought leaders, which can now be seen at www.33voices.com. (more…)
