Contacting HR and Other Social Media Questions for Job Seekers

As second nature as social media is to some, it is still new territory for others.

HR professionals are on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook as individuals and on behalf of their organizations. The job seeking public is developing profiles, joining groups and liking pages in an effort to connect with these HR pros and their companies in the hopes that the two will meet for a mutually beneficial outcome.

When I was asked to comment on proper etiquette for contacting HR professionals through social media, all of my chatter came down to this: be respectful of yourself and others at all times.

Some of the questions and quick-shot answers are below:

Is it acceptable to contact an HR professional through LinkedIn or Twitter? What about Facebook?

Yes. Take a look at their LinkedIn or Twitter profile. If their profile is private or they request not to be contacted, honor that. Many utilize Facebook for their recruitment efforts - others do not. Hot tip: do not weave a tangled web of friends to try to gain access to an HR professional with a private profile.

When contacting HR reps, ensure your state who you are, why you are contacting them and what information you are seeking. Don't underestimate the value of this first impression.

Is it wise to link your personal social media accounts or blogs to LinkedIn?

Importing your blog into LinkedIn is a powerful way to engage a wider audience. Think through the content you are importing into LinkedIn. Do your personal social media accounts present a professional image? Do they support your professional goals? What are your objectives?

I choose not to import the content into LinkedIn profile on a regular basis. Facebook pictures of my daughter swimming 50m fly would be of little professional value to my network.

How should you manage your image on your blog to not offend potential employers

Be accountable for what you say and how you say it. Some employers are looking up candidates on social networking sites and may think twice about hiring someone with something perceived as negative in their profile. Why? Your on-line actions can say alot about how you conduct yourself in real life.

Highlight your skills, your experiences, your ideas and your challenges. Don't be afraid to offer points of view and challenge assumptions - professionally.

What would you add? What words of wisdom would you offer to someone looking to manage their online image to land a great job?

Top 20 HR Mentors for Students

It all started with a conference and some construction.

There I was, making my way through Minneapolis construction to the 1st ever MN Bloggers Conference and I met Josh Braaten holding up a sign directing attendees to the parking lot.

One thing lead to another and Josh unofficially became my official Big Picture Web Squarespace connection.

Josh introduced me to Grant Tilus via an offer to guest post and Grant developed this list of Top 20 Mentors for Students to Learn from on Twitter.

It starts off like this:

"As a student studying to become a human resources professional it is important to realize that not everything can be learned within a classroom.  In order to help you bridge experience gap prior to graduation we’ve put together a list of the top 20 HR mentors for students to learn from on Twitter. This list of human resource professionals will help you learn and understand current HR related issues while further preparing you for a successful career within the human resources field."

Got your interest? It should. There is a ton of experience on that list. Check out the entire list here.

Not any one list can capture the greatness so who would you like to add as a resource for students aka the future of HR? I'll start with Steve Brown, @sbrownehr.

Your turn!