Social Media Branding for Silicon Valley Job Seekers

Businesses make or lose money by image. And that image costs a significant amount of money to create and maintain using branding.

And it works. Brilliantly.

So, don’t reinvent the wheel; brand yourself as a candidate if you’re on the hunt. And, as an IT professional, what better way than to do so using social media? (HINT: there isn’t one) Here are a few tips to help you along the way:

• Keep your LinkedIn profile clean and polished. This is likely to be the first site a recruiter will check. Also, make sure it includes keywords a recruiter will be likely to search for. In this case, it’s perfectly acceptable to use some tech jargon as long as there’s still plain English somewhere in there.

• Clean up your Facebook, especially any crazy college years. No future employer wants to see a picture of you performing keg stands just a few short years ago. This also applies to lewd memes or profanity.

• Don’t appear desperate. Maybe I’m judgmental, but when I see a name like “Joe Looking For Work Smith” on LinkedIn, it’s not good, and certainly not professional. I would probably – no, definitely – veto that candidate immediately. Clean and polished.

• Create a video. Ever see a video on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter? Exactly. They’re becoming more and more popular; this is one way you can certainly stand out. Embed it into your media presence, or create a YouTube video with a link in your profile.

• Participate on IT specific forums, and demonstrate your subject matter expertise. It should go without saying to use the same sort of language and tone that one would use in an office setting.

• Contribute to open source projects. There are TONS out there, and while this looks good on a resume anyway as experience, it allows you to interact within a community that may know someone. IT is a huge small world.

• Let people know you’re looking. But, as we mentioned above, don’t be obnoxious about it. There are times to be direct, and times to be subtle – your relationship with the person you’re talking to will be a defining factor. A periodic update letting your connections, followers or friends know that you have a lot to offer helps, too.

• Be positive, and be confident. It can be difficult for unemployed candidates to stay positive – but it’s necessary. The technology world has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation.

If you’re unemployed, we’re here to help you. At the Armada Group, we maintain a wide variety of world class talent with skills just like yours. The Armada Group also work with some of the largest and fastest growing companies in the world, and we want to help you find the right career opportunity. If you are looking software developer jobs in Silicon Valley, contact The Armada Group today