How to Use Google+ When Searching for Your Next Job

In a world that is becoming progressively more social, there are more and more ways to search for your next role; no longer are you limited to searching for your next role via job boards. With the rising popularity of Google+, it would be a greatly missed opportunity to not use the social network - not only to extend your professional network but also to utilise what it has to offer to assist you in finding your next role.

Setting yourself up

• Go to google+ and follow the sign up instructions.
• Focus on creating your profile. Use a professional picture of yourself.
• If you have an effective LinkedIn profile, use the information you already have at hand there to assist you in creating your profile.
• Do not forget to add links to your other social network profiles and any contact information that will make it easier for potential employers to learn more about you and get in touch if they like what they see.
• Connect with colleagues, friends, family members, influencers and people who interest you. Doing this will make you more discoverable and can only add to the value of your Google+ profile.
• Likewise you should encourage those around you to connect with you, add you to their circles or encourage them to create a Google+ account.

Circles
Once you have created your account you can then move on to utilising all of the tools that Google+ has to offer. The first step will be to create what are known as “Circles”. The benefit of using a circle when searching for a role is that you can share different updates with different circles. For instance, you can announce to any recruiters/ hiring managers in your “Recruitment Circle” that you are potentially on the look for a new role without anyone else being aware.

Hangouts
Hangouts allow you to easily video conference with multiple Google+ users at once. This will be useful for searching for your next role as you will be able to conduct interviews with multiple recruiters and hiring managers from the comfort of your own home. You can connect with friends and colleagues to discuss plans and strategies for searching for a new role, and to discuss your award winning “Elevator Pitch” and how it could be improved.

Share & Follow
Just like LinkedIn and Facebook you can follow, comment and share stories or posts that are relevant to you or that you find interesting. Commenting on posts allows you to get into discussions with other people who have the same interests as you, or even with potential hiring managers who you may happen to impress with your amazing knowledge. You should always attempt to connect with anybody relevant to you, as growing your network is never a bad thing!