How to use social media to your advantage

Whether you are fresh out of law school and trying to land your first job with a law firm or a seasoned veteran in the field looking to advance your career, social media can help you achieve your goals, provided that you handle it correctly. While social media is a common aspect of our personal lives, many do not realise how it can help you obtain a position in the legal profession. Before you commit a faux pas when communicating with potential employers via these popular communication tools, here are a few of the ways that you can use social media to your advantage to land the position that you have been dreaming of.

Use care in what you post online

Whether you use Facebook to connect with family and old friends, or Twitter to share details about your day, it is important to remember that anything you post on these social media sites is there forever. Employers are now turning to these sites to gain an in-depth insight into how employees act outside of the office, and comments or photos that make you look bad can cause an employer to form a bad first impression, so handle the content you add with care. 

While family photos, re-posts of adorable animals and friendly comments with friends and family are ok, derogatory comments about a particular person, or photos that may paint a less-than-appealing impression of you probably should not be added to social media sites. You want your potential employers to see someone with whom they would feel comfortable working. If you are unsure as to whether you should post something, think about whether it would embarrass or upset your mother or grandmother if she saw it. If the answer is yes, then that information has no place on any social media site.

Utilise your social media savvy to your advantage

Now that you have a solid understanding of the dos and don'ts of what should be posted on social media sites, it is time to use your skills to your advantage and reach out to potential employers via the likes of LinkedIn or even Facebook. Many companies have been in business for years, but they may be a bit green when it comes to marketing their firm successfully online.

Many organisations have a Facebook or Twitter presence, but they may have no clue on how to manage the sites to their advantage. Contacting a potential legal employer via one of these social media sites demonstrates that you have skills in a variety of areas that may be advantageous to the employer. If you are able to successfully market yourself to the law firm, the same skills you used to market yourself can be used to get new clients for the firm, making it 'win, win' for all involved.

Consider following others in the field on Twitter

If you are unsure as to which firm you are interested in working for, a great way to connect with potential employers is to follow them on Twitter or add them as a connection on LinkedIn. While companies usually post job openings on the most popular job boards, some may be more difficult to find unless you know specifically where to look. The more people you are professionally connected to on social media sites, the better.

Your connections will give you access to even more individuals in the field, allowing you to find out about new jobs or other information that relates to the field that you may not have normally learned about. Just keep in mind that not every person that you connect with on sites like LinkedIn or Facebook may be willing to accept your connection request. Don't take this personally, as it more than likely has nothing to do with you as a person. Instead, that person may choose to connect with only those that she/he knows on a personal level, instead blindly accepting requests in order to amass as many friends as possible.

These are just a few of the many ways you can use one of the social media sites to land a job in the legal profession. Make sure to be conscious of what you post on these popular sites and don’t be afraid to reach out to those you are interested in working for. Do this and you will be on your way to landing the job that you desire.

Richard McMunn is the author of this post and owner of www.How2become.com, a leading training and recruitment careers specialist. You can also engage with How2become on Facebook.