Lekan Otufodunrin, journalist and media career development specialist writes on the importance of professional online engagements for media job seekers.
I recently reposted an old, but still timely content on www.mediacareerng.org website titled 7 Professional ways to get your dream job.
The article reiterated why Social media is supposed to be more for professional engagement than social for anyone building his or her career.
It noted that social media is about “making yourself known, but it’s also about boundaries.”
To help readers get the balance right, it explained traits from Twitter followers which included:
Ask positive questions and engage
Promote your events and invite people to speak or attend
Showcase your work
Don’t talk excessively
Avoid unnecessary criticism
Avoid tweeting your political opinion
The quote I highlighted for the tweet was: “When you are busy mingling online, through your use of social media it is important to note that this social circle will include potential employers. So, how do you get them to notice you for the right reasons? How do you protect your personal brand? ”
As if to confirm the points in the article, I saw a vacancy announcement a day after the reposting.
It was about the recruitment of a Social Media Manager whose responsibilities for the role include specialised writing on healthcare and investments, newsletter content writing and designs, tracking and reporting of all digital activities as well as traditional media coordination.
Interested applicants were asked to send samples of other corporate social media pages they have managed, as well as a sample article on health issues.
What particularly caught my attention in the advert was the request for samples of other corporate social media pages managed and sample articles.
If an interested applicant does not have the experience of managing other corporate social media pages, it occurred to me that he or she should have a personal well managed social media pages to showcase and may be considered by the recruiting organization.
The need to volunteer to help top personalities or organizations manage their social media pages also occurred to me as an opportunity to have what we can showcase when opportunities like the vacancy above come up.
Again, the point about writing good content on our expertise and other knowledge is also noteworthy based on the vacancy.
The lessons here is that, especially for job seekers, they should be very professional in whatever they do, even on social media, website and other online engagements.
Did you note that there was no mention of the degrees or certificate of the suitable person for the job? Certificates are important but much more is what you have done or capable of doing based on what you have online and offline. Online in this case.
For those who have health writing experience, but are not social media savvy, too bad that you don’t have the multimedia skill required for any writer in the present age.