It wouldn’t hurt but nope, you don’t need it. There are many other ways to get a job.

Social media is a tool for connecting and communicating. It’s also an inexpensive way to promote events,  market products and services (e-commerce). But now business has caught up to it’s power and influence and  It’s being used to screen candidates. More and more recruiters and hiring managers will perform a social media search of candidates, the statistics are about 50% of all employers will search you online. I’ve read other articles that say it’s closer to 80% - either way it’s a lot and it’s only going to increase. However with all of that – you don’t necessarily need social media to get a job.

It helps to be online professionally and have a LinkedIn account however there are only 230 million registered users on LinkedIn and over 1.2 billion on Facebook   – so obviously not everyone is online. I’ve had many clients refuse to sign up for social media accounts.

It’s okay because there are many jobs are shared via informal networks. For instance, I get emails about job openings for positions in certain areas that sometimes aren’t published on social media or job boards. You’ve heard me talk about that before. There are informal job networks everywhere.

You have to network to get work – let me repeat that – you have to network to get work. So that means you need to belong to groups and professional associations. There is so much job movement going on in every city and if you don’t know about it, that means you aren’t connected. Get out and go to a mixer, a meeting, a community event and even the chamber of commerce.

Here are a couple more ways to find jobs outside of social media.

Job Fairs – You think job fairs suck and are irrelevant? Well you’re wrong. Whenever you attend a job or career fair you should be strategic – identify the companies who will be in attendance and which positions they are looking for. Don’t be a job snob – go in open minded and pleasant. Have genuine conversations with the representatives of those companies. Sometimes they may be looking for entry level talents now but have open positions in other areas as well. I have 2 clients who have gotten managerial jobs at job fairs.

Friends – What about your friends? Is your resume updated and attractive? Do you have a degree or 2? Do you have a specialty skill? If so, then you should make a list of your top friends and professional connections and email them letting them know you are looking for a new job. I know a lady who recently shared on Facebook that she was back in the job market – and now she has 3 leads. (P.S. – If you don’t have financially successful and professional friends – you are screwed).

To wrap this up, I love social media, if not for it, you would not be reading this article right now. However as a resume writer I have clients who never use social media but they were referred to me by others who are on social media. These folks are finding jobs through their networks, associations and hustle – so yeah, social media is fine but right now you can still find a job without it (right now being the operative words).

Join the Resume Crusade. Contact me ‘[email protected]’.