Partner with Employers to Get a Job

By Sharon Boerbon Hanson

Partnerships make hard tasks easier. One of the most difficult tasks for companies is finding the right employee.  It’s expensive, time consuming, and resource draining. If you can shorten their process and save employers money and time, you’ve created an ideal partnership.

How do you partner to get a job? By helping employers efficiently find the right candidate—you. Make their search easier by providing an extensive online professional presence. This is particularly important for IT professionals. Being noticed in cyberspace lends the subliminal message of excellence and passion for the field.

Developing a partnership means more than having a LinkedIn account. According to a 2010 Jobvite Social Media Recruiting Survey, 92 percent of companies plan to recruit using social networks and 88 percent of recruiters look at social sites to learn more about job seekers.  What does this mean for you?   Employers want to learn more about potential interview candidates.

You need to manage your image. It’s a negative to not come up on a Google search, but even worse is to give a bad impression. Remove any unsuitable images (drinking, inappropriate dress, etc.) on Facebook, Flickr, or other sites. Never bad-mouth others (especially former employers) or post inaccurate qualifications. Be sensible whenever you post.

The right presence will convince companies and their recruiters that you have the right mix of IT job skills, professionalism, and business understanding. Show that you are a dynamic potential employee by joining IT-specific groups.  Go deeper by interacting in the forums and discussion boards. Choose companies you’d like to work for and, if possible, be active on their site. Always post clean, clearly written material that is grammatically correct. Don’t use sarcasm; it doesn’t translate well when written. Use a screen name that is professional and allows you to be found.

To partner with a potential employer, put your best self forward and make sure you can be found.

Sharon Boerbon Hanson is associate executive director of Advance IT Minnesota, a Center of Excellence that promotes awareness of and excellence in IT careers in order to ensure business success. She has over 25 years’ experience marketing and brand-building, and has been a resume and interview coach 15 years.