Most of us use some form of social media whether it's Facebook, Twitter or YouTube -- but how many of us are utilizing the power of social media platforms to find jobs or advance our careers?

While there aren’t any magic bullets in a job search, having a strong presence on social media can positively impact your face-to-face networking activities, as well as help you connect with people and tap into the hidden job market of positions that are only advertised through word of mouth. 

If you still have doubts about the effectiveness of this new job search tool, check out this infographic by MBA Online. Approximately 18,400,000 Americans said that Facebook got them their current job.

Time to brush up on your modern job hunting skills!

Here are four tips to help you use social media to your advantage. 

1. BUILD YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

Marketing yourself on social media means having the ability to position yourself as an influencer and expert in your field. A great way to impress potential employers is to have your own blog, Facebook page or Twitter account where you discuss the industry you are most interested in. If you take the time to make your content memorable, it will get shared and spread throughout various social media networks. 

Writing consistently can be very challenging, but it is essential to provide regular updates if you want the networking benefit of a blog.

And if you want to find out how you are perceived online, consider using a social media monitoring website like Reppler or Klout. These tools will give you an idea of your level of influence and image consistency. 

2. CREATE A POSITIVE IMAGE

When searching for a job on social media, it’s a good idea to be consistent in presenting yourself, personal brand, accomplishments, and employment history across your various network profiles and on your résumé.

Inconsistencies to watch out for are saying you do one thing on your résumé and something else on your LinkedIn profile. It’s also a good idea to use one good profile picture across your social media accounts because people will remember you more easily.

And keep an eye on your “personal profile”. Facebook is often used by recruiters to screen their interviewees, so delete any posts, photos or videos that you might not want a potential employer to see.  

3. CAPITALIZE ON LINKEDIN

A great profile on LinkedIn is the natural first step for your social media job hunting. So many people don’t use LinkedIn to the best of their ability and fail to complete their entire profile.

Update your CV with your latest experiences and don’t forget to complete the “skills section”. This will increase your chances of showing up in relevant searches and will help categorize your experience for anyone who happens to scan your profile.

Another good idea is to get recommendations. The best way to get them? Write one for someone else, people more often than not, obey the law of reciprocity, give them something and they'll want to give you something in return (LinkedIn even helps you out by asking them if they would like to return the favour).

4. BE PROACTIVE AND TAKE SOME RISKS 

If you want to use social media to your advantage, you will need to pursue and network with people who are more influential than you are. Talk, listen and learn from them. As a job seeker, it is very rare that you would ever get the opportunity to directly engage high-ranking executives and industry influencers, so take advantage of it while you can.

Twitter is the best example. It allows you to connect with people you don’t know based on common interests. What a great way to do some networking!

Don’t be shy, it’s all about taking risks every now and then!

Social Media Should Supplement Traditional Career-Building

After all these tips, bear in mind that one of the main functions of social media is to build your connections. You have to remember to take your networking offline and meet face-to-face, too. That's where the real magic happens. Attend Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter meet-ups, check out industry-related conferences, or just invite someone out for coffee.

Because to really get ahead, experts advise that you unplug yourself now and again. ;-)

We’d like to hear your thoughts! How are you using social media to help advance your career? What’s worked for you? What hasn’t? 

URGENT: PAID PARENTAL LEAVE PLEASE!
Did you know that the United States remains one of three countries that doesn’t mandate paid maternity leave? A 2011 Human Rights Watch report called "Failing its Families," says at least 178 countries have national laws guaranteeing paid leave for new mothers, while the handful of exceptions include the U.S., Swaziland and Papua New Guinea. More than 50 nations, including most Western countries, also guarantee paid leave for new fathers.
While U.S. companies are moving in the way of providing more family-friendly workplace policies, many currently provide alternative forms of payment through their short-term disability programs. For example, having a baby can be considered a qualifying condition for getting paid disability leave! And only 16 percent of all U.S. companies offer paid maternity, paternity or adoption leave, according a recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management.

Well, the Working Mother magazine has launched a campaign asking for paid parental leave to be available to all U.S. workers by 2015. You can sign their petition online.  

In the midst of this campaign, Working Mother has released the results of a study that links paid family leave to greater labor force attachment and increased wages for women. Paid maternity leave doesn’t just benefit mom’s and baby’s health. It also improves the odds of women returning to work!

DON’T FORGET ABOUT FATHERS
Fathers want flexible work-arrangements too! Working dads have guilt problems too! Sure, it’s a  situation that is not unique to fathers, but men are newer to the struggle. A columnist for the Toronto Star explains that men are about 40 years behind women when it comes to juggling their professional ambition and their responsibilities to their children.

He explains that making it easier and more socially acceptable for men to pull back at work could help the cause of women, by making more room at the top. “Men are where women were 40 years ago in terms of this dance between work and family,” says Cameron Phillips, a self-proclaimed “dadvocate” and business consultant. “There should be more empathy toward the struggle here. These are universal struggles. Being stuck in traditional stereotypes hurts everybody.”

The article quotes a recent study from human resource firm Ranstad Canada that found 60% of female employees seeking part-time flexible work arrangements are accommodated compared with only 44% of men asking for the same deal. It’s possible that changing the image and expectation of working dads will take just as long as it did to adjust to working moms.

WHY DOES WORK START AT 9 AM?
With this question, this Forbes article dives into a real debate: is the workplace today too structured and standardized? Even more, is this standardization inherently biased against women? The author seems to think that the entire corporate culture is designed to maximize the strengths of male workers.

She explains that the workplace status quo was designed when only men were in the workforce, but the Millennial generation is starting to question these so-called rules. Why 9 AM? There is no research showing that workers are more productive if they start at 9 a.m. instead of 10 a.m.
The author also explains that the workplace is structured in a way that is inherently biased against women. Men perform better under routine and structure, thus the structured work hours fit their needs perfectly. But what about women? They have had to adapt to a work environment that was not designed for them.

Companies are starting to lend an ear. The growing acceptance of open office cubicles and flexible work schedules are just two examples. Ironically what Millennials want in an ideal workforce are also the same things that women seek: flexible work schedules, cultivating a culture that respects work-life balance, and evaluating performance based on results instead of the number of hours at the office.

FINDING A JOB USING SOCIAL MEDIA?
It appears, from studies conducted over the past few years that women are more actively involved in using social media networking then men. They have more Facebook and Twitter pages, and they are blogging away! A Rebtel study commissioned from research firm Harris Interactive on the social networking habits of men and women shows that women are significantly more likely to use online social networks, like Facebook or Twitter, to communicate with friends, family, and co-workers. A whopping 68% of women use social media to stay in touch with friends, as opposed to 54% of men.

But what about using social media to find a job? Men appear to have an edge when it comes to career social networking. According a LinkedIn study published last year, men are more savvy networkers than women. But don’t forget that LinkedIn is 63% male.

The majority of all jobs (70-80%) are found through “networking”. So women (and men) must revert to the best ways to get a job in and that is to get out there and network, network, network. And 54% of social media users have used Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn in their hunt for work this past year. A great infographic shows just how social media has become a widely used tool for job hunters. Sadly, women seem to be lagging when it comes to exploiting social media. Of those who found their last job via an online social network, only 40% were women.

ROLE MODELS WANTED!
A new MIT study co-authored by economist Esther Duflo, underscores just how important female leaders are for the attitudes and ambitions of young women. Researchers focused on the West Bengal region of India and found that in areas with long-serving female leaders in local government, the gender gap in education disappeared, due to the fact that girls had set higher goals for themselves. “We think this is due to a role-model effect: Seeing women in charge persuaded parents and teens that women can run things, and increased their ambitions. Changing perceptions and giving hope can have an impact on reality,” says Duflo.

She also believes the findings underscore the value of policies that get women to enter politics. “I think it definitely goes in the direction of encouraging the participation of women in sectors where they are underrepresented,” she says. The study notes, however, that while attitudes have changed as more female political leaders take office, employment opportunities for young women did not.

A Forbes article reporting on the story points out that this study speaks to the powerful and inspirational effect of women leaders everywhere, and makes a compelling case for enforcing female quotas on corporate boards and in politics. Perhaps gender quotas are needed to speed up change and encourage the ambitions of the next generation...