Maximising the use of Social Media in your job search
More and more employers are relying on social media to promote vacancies and to research potential candidates. So, whatever your opinion about Social Media, you cannot afford to ignore it as a vital part of your job search across all sectors. If you are anxious or cautious about the risks of engaging online, there are plenty of ways to minimize risks to your privacy while maximizing the usefulness of different platforms. So, start thinking of it as a resource to add to your tool kit where not only can you find vacancies advertised, and make new connections, but you can also:
- Research companies: On linkedin you can find out who works at an organization, what their career history is, what qualifications they have – all this information is invaluable career data that can help you plan your steps to success
- Research potential interviewers: Have an interview coming up? Sometimes it can be helpful to find out about who will be interviewing them from their linkedin profile
- Keep up to date with industry news and join the conversation: twitter and Linkedin are great forums for learning about what is going on in an industry, and hearing debates and discussions about issues and challenges. When you get a bit more confident, you might even join the conversation ! It will certainly help you answer questions interview about industry trends and challenges
- Search for Alumni: If you have recently completed training and education it can be really useful to research people who have studied the same or similar courses to you. This can give you ideas about the potential career path you could take- it can be very interesting to see the twists and turns of careers and could open avenues that you haven’t considered.
- Don’t forget to clean up your profile!! Even if an employer doesn’t use social media directly for recruiting, they are very likely to check out your social media profiles before hiring you, so make sure they don’t find anything that may make them think twice about hiring you!
Start Your Own Business
If you are thinking of self employment you may be eligible for the Back to Work Enterprise scheme. This scheme allows you to maintain your social welfare payment while building your business (100% for the first year and 75% for the second year), with access to an additional Enterprise Support Grant.
For more information on the scheme click here, or contact Maxim at Empower for support and advice on developing your business idea: milyin@empower.ie
Building your experience: Community Employment
Do you feel you need a bit of experience before launching yourself straight into full time work? Community Employment can be a great way to put into practice skills you have developed on your courses while building your confidence in the workplace. The video below explains what is Community Employment and how it benefits both job seekers and the communities in which they live.
Job Search Links
- Activelink
- The Wheel
- Public Jobs
- Charity Jobs
- University Vacancies
- DCU Vacancies
- Early Childhood Ireland
- Education Posts
- DDLETB Vacancies
- CDETB Vacancies
- Fingal Chamber
- Balbriggan Chamber
- Institute of Advertising Practitioners Ireland
- IFTN
- Dóchas
- Theatre Forum
- Creative Careers
- Silicon Republic
- INOU Jobs Watch
- Fingal County Council
- Dublin City Council
- Jobs Ireland
- Job Alert
- Beautifuljobs.ie
- Irishjobs.ie
- Indeed.com
- Jobs.ie
Healthcare
Keep an eye on the vacancy sections of hospital websites and the careers section on the HSE website.
Here are some links to check regularly and to help you research Healthcare Providers in your area.
