Think about the word Recruiter for a minute.

What do you think about when you think of that word?

There are corporate recruiters who work for the company itself.

There are agency recruiters who help organizations find talent for companies other than itself for a fee.

There are executive recruiters or headhunters who are paid a very high fee to find “C” level talent for other organizations.

Have you ever been called by any of these? Were you looking when you were called?

Recruiting has changed dramatically over the past twenty years. The days of applying for a job online is NOT how most candidates are found anymore. Recruiters should now be called “DETECTIVES”. We use social media. A LOT!!

EVERYTHING IS RESEARCH-ABLE. Anything you have done in the past can now be found on the web. If you ran in a race, we can find you. If you have joined a meetup group for a technical skill, we will find you.

The number one thing to understand is that YOU WANT TO MAKE YOURSELF FOUND. When a recruiter types in your name on Google, where will you come up on a search? This is called SEO or Search Engine Optimization. In today’s world, ANYTHING can be happen!! You like your job? Great! You may lose it tomorrow and it may not be your fault. Be ready!

Here are 5 Social Media avenues Recruiters use to find you:

Linkedin – Do you even realize the importance of Linkedin? I know this is a big “duh” moment for most, but recruiters treat Linkedin like the bible. Make sure your Linkedin profile is TOP KNOTCH. Do you have a picture? Not a picture of you at a party, but a real professional picture? If not, get this done ASAP! Do you have a job title that people can find you? Don’t put “product manager”, put “international expansion product manager”. Make it clear and concise. Do you have your skillet that CLEARLY states what you have done for each position? If you are in sales, talk about your achievements, quota attained, accounts generated. Treat it like a BREATHING RESUME. Do you have endorsements? Like it or not, endorsements are now Linkedin’s new recommendations and Recruiters DO view your endorsements. Take a class; get the advice of an expert, but Linkedin is essential! Even if you don’t want to be found, you MUST present an image you would like the WORLD to see, because THEY DO! Recruiters start here with almost EVERY search. Although we may not contact you here, we want to find out WHO you are on Linkedin.

Facebook – Seriously. Most everyone around the world has a Facebook account. It is not going away. We look at pictures. We look at how you interact with others. Facebook has been known as your “personal space” for so long, but don’t forget, we can find out A LOT about you even if you change your privacy settings. It is okay to post pictures, or talk about your sports team. We will couple this information with any other information before making a decision if you are a candidate. Be careful what you say or do. It is okay to mix business with professional here. I encourage it. Do it the right way though.

Twitter – Okay – So I didn’t used to be a big believer in Twitter. It is NOT going away. 140 Characters or less isn’t very much, but we will know more about you from what you tweet than most other avenues. A lot of people STILL haven’t adapted to Twitter, but they will soon enough. This is one of the main social media streams out there. If you don’t have a twitter account, get one. Use it. You can follow people for a long time before you even tweet. People talk a LOT on twitter. Information can travel faster on Twitter than most other social media streams.

Google Plus- Google has become increasingly important. A majority of individuals have Gmail accounts. Please get one if you don’t have one. If you have an Android phone, most everything is tied to Google. Many companies are using Gmail and Google rather than Microsoft Exchange because of the cost of Microsoft’s products. Google plus is still in it’s infancy, but I do believe it could overtake many other social platforms in the future

Blogs- The future of blogging is truly at a serious cross road. On one hand, self-expression is embraced. On the other hand, blogging is becoming seriously overcrowded with so-called experts. If you DO write, please know what you are talking about and have something to ADD to society. Many people don’t blog and are terrific at what they do. If you do Blog, I will know A LOT about you and can tell if you are someone I want to pursue OR NOT. We look at personal blog sites to find information and to decide whether or not to move forward.

Clean up your Social Media presence today. It is ESSENTIAL in today’s world. It is ESSENTIAL in finding your next job. EVEN IF YOU AREN’T LOOKING!! We will find you.

This post originally appeared on Marc Miller’s Career Pivot website as a guest blog.

@willrecruits

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