Job hunting is changing. The days where employers pay recruiters thousands of pounds to find the right candidate are fading to black and new avenues are opening up for job seekers looking to connect with potential companies and bosses. Social media has taken the recruitment industry by storm and more and more candidates are scrubbing up their facebook profiles, polishing their twitter accounts and pimping their LinkedIn profiles to try to impress their future employers and ultimately land the perfect job.  

Is it all hot air though? Can this new wave of communication really improve our chances of landing job? Here are 5 social media tips, which could help you in the job hunting process: 

1. Register yourself on LinkedIn and upload your CV – LinkedIn is the largest professional social network on the planet and if you’re not on it, you’re missing out. It’s a great platform for exchanging business ideas, flirting with potential employers and connect with old and existing colleagues. Optimize your profile by: i) recommending and ask for recommendations from your friends and ex-colleagues ii) Add your written work such as guest blogs, academic coursework etc. (from the navigation bar > More > My Applications), iii) Add events you have participated in or you are going to (you will find many of them in your city) and, ultimately, join work related Association and Groups v) Leverage your second degree connections – you’ll be amazed how many relevant people your friends and other connections can introduce you to. 

2. Use social job search engines like Adzuna or Branch Out. These tools allow you to quickly and easily identify friends in your network who work at companies that are hiring. Having connections and “lines in” to relevant employers can help you a) Understand what it’s like to work at the company b) Give you an advocate at the company – A quiet word in the bosses ear can go a long way!

3. Open a dedicated Twitter account and be interesting. Follow professionals and recruiters in your field. Recently Saatchi & Saatchi launched a graduate recruitment campaign based on the number of followers and retweets a candidate could generate.

4. Connect your Twitter account with Linkedin ( More > My Applications ) and use both of them to boost your popularity. Start to think about the short list of companies you’d like to work for and follow all areas of social media. Engage with their employees and relevant people that could be interested in your skills and you as an individual. 

5. Be careful what you publish information online about yourself. Do a big cleanup of your personal Internet history and change Facebook privacy setting. Most employers will type your details into Google to get a deeper insight into you. Make sure there’s no nastiness they can discover!