5 Social Media Strategies to Power Up Your Job Search

“Social media is only for the self-promoting extroverts. I’m too private for that.” Sound familiar? The truth is, social media can help you in the job search while still letting you feel comfortable and authentic. From making you more visible to recruiters to helping you build your network, social media is a crucial part of any job search strategy.

We spoke to Olivia Bell, TripleTen’s social media manager, who is the strategist behind the company’s social accounts. She also consults with bootcamp grads on how social media can positively affect their job opportunities. Read on for Olivia’s insights about social media algorithms, what to post and how often, and other tips for success.

1. Get online

Olivia says that tech bootcamp grads looking for jobs “should 100% be on LinkedIn_{5 Ways to Find a Tech Job on LinkedIn}. That's where all the tech recruiters and hiring managers are looking.” LinkedIn is the social media site for professional networking and job hunting, so it’s great if you want to keep your personal life more private, since it’s focused on “your business life, rather than your personal life.”

That said, you can still post about your search on any platform where you have an online presence. Olivia recommends sharing about your bootcamp experience on Facebook or Instagram just to make your friends and acquaintances aware of this new career direction. You never know who will reach out or offer a lead about a job opening. For example, TripleTen grad Sheldon_{From Sales to Tech: How Sheldon Kinsler Found a New Career and Community} shared regular updates about his bootcamp progress on LinkedIn, and he was first on the interview list when a LinkedIn connection needed to hire a business intelligence analyst. 

To get started, simply share your new career direction with your connections. Customize this sample post:

2. Polish up your profile

Olivia reminds job seekers that on LinkedIn, “Your profile is your home base, the place that people click on and get to know more about you and your personal brand.” Your posts and comments will ideally get recruiters to check out your profile. 

Unlike your resume, your LinkedIn profile has a lot more space to expand on your professional experience, from highlighting individual skills to telling your career-change story to give recruiters context. You can add an “Open to work” banner to your photo, and indicate to recruiters that you’re actively looking for a job. And you can ask for public recommendations from colleagues or instructors.

So go ahead and fill out your LinkedIn profile as completely as you can: 

• Choose (or take) a professional-looking photo with no other people in the frame, and with a neutral background. 
• Make your headline count. If you’ve just completed a software engineering bootcamp, go ahead and include “Software Engineer”. 
• Add a link to your portfolio_{Secrets of a Stellar Portfolio: Guidelines and Checklist} to the “Featured” section
• Make sure your experience is up to date. You can include your bootcamp under “Experience” while listing your projects and the skills you’ve acquired.
• Use your LinkedIn summary to put together a story about yourself as a candidate. Sharahn McClung, a career coach at TripleTen, recommends structuring your summary to tell the story in the “Present, Past, Future” format: “Here's what you need to know about my current skills, here's how I got here, and here's what you’re going to get from me as an employee.” Align this story with the job descriptions you’re targeting.

3. Share your story and reconnect

Keep Olivia’s words in mind, especially if you feel awkward sharing personal updates: “Social media is about sharing and connection. Updating people on what you’re doing is not bragging!” Social media is just another meeting place, even though it’s virtual. And in order to connect, you’ll have to talk about yourself_{How Non-Toxic Networking Helps You Land a Job}. You don’t have to share overly personal details, or brag. In fact, sharing your story about joining a bootcamp or switching careers may inspire others!

But there are very real benefits to you, as well. Olivia often sees students reconnecting with acquaintances, even people they haven’t spoken to in years. Maybe an old college classmate or former work colleague sees your post and reaches out because they work in tech or their company is hiring. “It’s just about putting yourself out there because you never know what connections can come up,” Olivia says.

What can you post about? Especially on LinkedIn, keep your posts related to your new skill set and career field. You can talk about recent projects, share blog posts or quotes from others in the industry, or tell a story about a tricky problem you solved. “Authenticity is so key, especially when it comes to marketing yourself. Any time you're being authentic to yourself and to your audience, people are going to connect with you,” says Olivia.

4. Comment and start conversations

One trick that not everyone knows? Comments on LinkedIn give you more visibility than even your own posts. Olivia explains that the goal of the LinkedIn algorithm is to start conversations, and it assigns extra “points” to insightful comments. Even if your posts don’t get a lot of visibility, your comments will; the things you comment on will be shown to your LinkedIn connections. So it’s important to make sure your comments are helpful and thoughtful. That is, don’t comment “Hire me!!” under every recruiter post you can find. Olivia recommends this rule of thumb: “If it feels awkward to say it in person, don’t say it online.”

Instead, find leaders in your field, fellow bootcamp grads, or members of local professional groups. Follow their posts, and comment the same way you’d respond in a conversation with that person. (If you’re a TripleTen student or grad, you can comment on the company’s posts, too!). Good comments will make you more visible on the platform, which will lead to more clicks on your profile. With a bit of trial and error, you’ll figure out how to “leave comments that show your knowledge, your skill set and what you have to add,” as Olivia recommends.

5. Post regularly

Almost all social media algorithms reward regular posting. This doesn’t mean you need to post status updates daily on every social channel. But Olivia recommends setting realistic goals, like one new post every two weeks, or five comments a week.

It helps to join professional groups on LinkedIn or Facebook, where you can connect with people in your new field, and also see how they use social media. Try finding local chapters of professional groups based on tech stack, interest, and location (such as a local chapter of PyLadies), rather than joining groups with thousands of international members. 

Yuliya_{From Chemical Engineering to Motherhood to Tech : Yuliya Khilko’s TripleTen Story}, a TripleTen software engineering bootcamp grad, really leaned into her social media use during her job search.

I tried to be present everywhere — I joined Facebook and LinkedIn groups, looked for opportunities, messaged my friends who worked at startups. Sometime later a recruiter messaged me on LinkedIn, I think because my activity made my profile more visible to other people.

Yuliya Khilko TripleTen grad

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That recruiter message quickly led to Yulia being hired at lululemon, a leading North American sportswear retailer. 

Add more shine to your LinkedIn profile

A tech bootcamp is one of the best ways to make your profile stand out to potential employers. See if a bootcamp is right for you by taking our self-assessment quiz.