How Job Seekers Should User Social Media: Simon Pulman's Advice


If you're looking for a job in media/entertainment, your first stop should be Simon Pulman's definitive Nov. 19th. 2011 blogpost that lists the "very simple fundamental requirements."

Simon's post covers a lot of ground. To give you a sense of the clarity and the wisdom that infuses his post, I will excerpt some of Simon's advice about how to use social media here:

"Think about asking questions that encourage debate. This allows you to avoid making definitive declarations and judgments, while showing you are interesting and thoughtful. So you might open a blog post with “What issues are the cable networks(/major apparel brands) facing in the tablet age? I made a list of possible considerations…”

Engage, Participate and Interact. This is really important. At the beginning of your career, you’re unlikely to have groundbreaking ideas of your own – you’re not sufficiently experienced yet. However, you can still establish yourself as a filter, an arbiter of quality information. Retweet thought leaders, write blog posts that comment and expand on their thoughts, make comments on news developments (this is why you must read). All of this (a) helps build your network; and (b) establishes you as an interested person.

Be Patient, Be Consistent. Your blog will not receive tens of thousands of hits straight out of the box, nor will you pick up hundreds of twitter followers instantly. You must be cognizant that it is a long-term investment in yourself.

Play to your strengths. I enjoy writing. Others do not. If you do not like long-form writing but are, perhaps, more visually minded, think about how you can strategically use platforms like Pinterest, Tumblr, or Youtube to engage like-minded individuals.

Don’t worry about being everywhere. You don’t need to have a profile on every single site. Pick two or three channels (I recommend Twitter plus at least one long-form channel) and concentrate on them."

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