How to Get a Job in Social Media

I’m often asked, “how do I get a job like yours?” People love the social media world.  They think it’s fun and interesting, which it absolutely is, and they want to know how to get a job in social media. It makes total sense to me. I absolutely love working in social media and content marketing, so why wouldn’t you? (well, there are plenty of reasons, but that’s another post entirely.)

I’m not going to say that getting a job in social media is easy, because it simply is not. You are not the only person vying for that community manager role. I am going to say that there are a few things you can do to easily set yourself apart from the crowd.

What makes me the expert on this? I have successfully landed two amazing jobs in the social media and content marketing world using this approach. First, you’ve got to find the job you want.

Find the Job you Want

So you want to know how to get a job in social media? Step one is to get on social media. And I don’t mean create an account because if you’re just now creating the accounts, a job in social media might not be for you. What I mean is to get on social media and start job hunting.

I’ve found my past two jobs on Twitter. How did I learn about my current role at Lightspan? I typed “hiring chicago” into Twitter and found a DePaul Career Center tweet. How did I learn about my job at MMGY Global? I was following people who I admired, respected and ultimately wanted to work with. When the VP of Social Media tweeted they were looking for a social media manager, I was on it!

I love using Twitter as a job search tool because you can create that one-to-one conversation and the competition isn’t as high because many people aren’t thinking to use Twitter for their job hunt. Pro tip: if you’re looking for a job in social media, you’re making a huge mistake by not using Twitter in your search. 

Twitter isn’t the only tool you can use. There are an abundance of jobs on LinkedIn and groups dedicated to social media jobs on Facebook. Once you’ve identified your job target, here is what you need to do to get yourself noticed.

Stalk a Little: Learn About the Company and Its People

OK, so this might actually be considered more ‘social media stalking.’ Once you’ve found the job that you want to apply for, start looking around online and see if you can identify others who work there. Use Twitter and LinkedIn to do this. If you start sending Facebook requests to people you’ve never met, you might creep them out.

Make Contact & Build a Relationship

Now that you’ve identified some of your (hopefully) future co-workers online, reach out to them. Shoot them an @ mention, favorite a tweet or even DM them. It doesn’t even need be about the job if you think that’s too aggressive. Just say something to get your name on their radar. You never know who is reviewing resumes.

If you’re feeling gutsy, and you really want the job, ask them via DM or a LinkedIn message if they have any tips for you when applying. This is a lot easier if you’ve made contact with them before, so it’s always smart to start following people you’d eventually like to work with even before you’re job hunting.

When I was applying to Lightspan, I reached out to 3 or 4 employees to introduce myself. After saying hi, I let them know I was applying for the Digital Marketing Manager role and asked for any tips or advice. What do you know? They were super helpful and gave me some pointers.

Also, don’t be afraid to reach out to decision makers. This shows that you’re comfortable starting conversations online, which is a huge part of social media. I tweeted at Candice to let her know how excited I was to interview with her. After a few small interactions with Mana, I tweeted directly at her and expressed my interest in the role. This didn’t immediately result in a job offer, but she knew my name — or at least my handle.

Now that you’ve got a few conversations started, and your name buzzing around the office, it’s time to take the pointers you’ve gotten from the team and put them to work.

Tailor Your Resume

Now you have to edit your resume to fit the job that you are applying for and draft your cover letter. That’s right, you have to edit your resume for each job you apply for and write an entirely unique cover letter for each job. I know, it sounds like a lot of work, but when you know what you want, the effort is worth it.

For your resume, you hopefully have all the skills the the job you want requires. Move those to the top. At the top of my resume I have a “What Sets Me Apart” section. I’ve tweaked that for every job I’ve ever applied to because what sets me out for your role is going to be different than what sets me out for another role. Write it like a human. Make it interesting and unique. Keep the jargon to a minimum.

Here is what I had for the “what sets me apart” portion of my resume when I applied to Lightspan:

Remember, a person is reading a lot of these resumes each and every day. Keep your resume authentic. Eyes start to glaze over as soon as the buzzwords take over so keep them where appropriate but use words real people say where possible.

Be Authentic in your Cover Letter

Now you’ve edited your resume, it’s time to write your cover letter. Here is where you’re going to want to stop taking my advice. I want you to write your cover letter from scratch for each and every job you apply for. Many people struggle with writing cover letters because they don’t know how to talk about themselves so it takes a long time. Here is how you should approach it: write your cover letter as though you are explaining to your best friend why you are clearly the best fit for the job. Note: I didn’t say why you want the job.

To be quite frank, during the application process employers don’t care why you want the job. They want to know what you are going to do that is going to make their lives easier. They want to know what you bring to the table that others don’t. They want to know why you are the best candidate. How do you get them to know that? Get them to read your entire cover letter before the realize they’ve read it. Make it fun, light and conversational. Like you’re talking to a friend.

Many people I know get so caught up in trying to sound professional that they become robotic. They strip any and all personality from their cover letters, and that is just about the worst thing you could do. People don’t want to work with robots. We want to work with real, authentic people so show that in your cover letter!

Here is the cover letter I used to apply at Lightspan Digital. I explicitly followed the instructions provided on the website. I provided the links requested, answered the questions, told my story and injected personality within the ‘few paragraphs’ specified. You’d be surprised how few people follow the application instructions. Doing that is the easiest way you can make sure your resume stays in the yes pile.

Getting a job in social media is not easy because there is a lot of competition, but if you do the things I outlined above, you’ll be leaps and bounds ahead of your competition. I had always suspected I was taking more steps than the competition, but now that I am on the other side of the hiring table I know for sure.

Follow Instructions to the T

At Lightspan, we see a lot of applications for each job. You need to understand that everything in the hiring process is a test.  That means you need to spend time customizing each application to meet the requirements set by your (hopefully) future employer. If an applicant can’t follow simple instructions outlined in the job posting, they get thrown out.

Did the job posting ask for a one page resume? Send a one-page resume and no more. This is a huge pet peeve of mine and is the easiest way to get thrown out of my yes pile. If you can’t be concise in your resume, why would I think you could write concise social content? I don’t need to know everything you’ve ever done. I want to see the highlight reel.

Does the job posting ask for links to social profiles? Give them right up front (pro tip: test your links). Do not tell me to refer to your LinkedIn for your Twitter handle. I’m not going to hunting for information.

If you want the job, follow the instructions exactly as they’re outlined for you. If you feel like you’re jumping through hoops, you might be. But if you’re not willing to jump through the hoops, know that someone else is and that’s why they get hired and not you.

Hiring is not an easy job. There is a reason we set the expectation high for job applications at Lightspan. We only want the best. If you’re not willing to meet our standards in the application process, you probably don’t meet the A-team standard that we have here at Lightspan.

So that’s my take on how to get a job in social media. Build a relationship, be authentic, speak like a human and follow the instructions. You have no idea how much that will set you apart from your competition.

If you’ve got more questions for me or want me to take a look at your resume or cover letter, give me a shout. I’m always happy to help.