Job Seeker Blog - Spark Hire

How Social Media is Affecting Today’s Job Market

It has become a growing trend. Companies are desperately implementing social media into their organizations to maximize profits. For a while, stubborn CEO’s seemed bent on staying traditional and not falling victim to the technology age. There is only so much ignoring one can do though. It has become more and more evident that social media needs to play a significant role in an organization’s future. So if you’re currently on the job hunt, social media’s effect on today’s job market is something that should be exploited, because it’s in high demand.

Thankfully, recent college graduates- the group that needs the most help in this job market- are in a unique position of advantage. Most early to mid-twenty job seekers are already equipped in handling social media- something that employers are eager to tap into. Positions in handling a company’s social media outlet are in high demand. Digital and social media skills are becoming a must for potential employees to possess. In today’s world, it’s hard to find someone in their twenties who is not familiar with Facebook or Twitter. However, is that what companies are really looking for? Someone who knows how to post videos to Facebook or knows what a hash-tag is? Absolutely not. If that were the case, every 15-year-old girl with a MacBook would be working for a fortune 500 company. Marketing, networking, brand savvy and other skills need to accompany the familiarization of social media for these positions.

A new crop of certification processes are popping up due to the high demand of social media managers. Hootsuite University is just one of the many social media education providers training industry leading professionals and their companies. Even the most advanced “Facebook stalker” should take advantage of these courses. Hiring managers are looking for social media experts to transcend their company into the future. The problem is weeding out those who have the right tools for the job and those who just know how to download videos. With more and more job pursuers trying to fill the influx of social media demands, the harder it is to differentiate yourself from the pack. That’s why certifications and training are so valuable.

Another aspect of social media is that it’s constantly changing. Take Facebook for instance. Just last year, knowing how to successfully market a brand through the website would almost certainly do you no good in today’s standards. Facebook changed their whole concept by employing the “timeline,” thus making familiarity with the old set-up moot. Constant change within social media demands constant change from candidates hoping to land a job centered on social media. In this ever-evolving technological era, it’s clearly vital to stay ahead of the social media curb.

SOURCE: Huffington Post
IMAGE: Courtesy of Thought Pick

Chris Officer

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