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Building your own social media accounts is an effective way to prove to a potential employer that you know your stuff — and the best part is, you can make your personal content about whatever you want. “Create your own social account about something you’re passionate about and invest time in it,” suggests Brayden.
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If you’re starting from scratch, Hootsuite has advice on growing followers and increasing engagement on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other social media channels. Nothing beats practical knowledge, even if it’s not “work” experience. If you’re in college (or even high school), you can also take on the social media marketing
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manager position for a group there— “Join a club at school and lead their marketing efforts,” says Brayden.
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There aren’t any hard and fast rules when it comes to qualifications for working in social media (more on that later), but completing a social media certification is an asset. Many social networks also have their own training and certification programs to help social media professionals learn the best ways to use each network’s specific tools—and
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highlight that proficiency to potential employers on your resume. You can learn from: – Meta Blueprint – Google AdWords certification – Twitter Flight School – Pinterest’s webinars Find more industry courses in our post on certifications that will make you a better social media marketer.
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The best way to find a job in social media? Using social media, of course. LinkedIn, the “smart one” in the social platform family (Instagram’s the hot one, Facebook’s the mom friend, you get it), is one of the best places to nail a new gig. “I found my job at Hootsuite on LinkedIn,” shares Trish. “The best part of it is you can see
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other people who work at the company, connect with them and ask them questions.” Brayden advises connecting with marketers in industries you’d like to work in and arranging informal informational interviews. LinkedIn has some built-in job search tricks too. “Create a search and save notification function on LinkedIn for
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targeted keywords of jobs you’re interested in,” suggests Brayden. That said, LinkedIn isn’t the only option. You can join social media community groups on Facebook or follow social marketers on Instagram for leads on positions.
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The marketing industry is always growing and changing—type “social media manager” into a job search engine and you’ll get lots of hits (a quick Indeed search just yielded 109 jobs just in Vancouver, BC — and that’s only one of many online job boards out there). So how can you tell a good job opportunity from a bad job opportunity? Here are some red (and green) flags from our experts.
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Red flag: You can’t tell what the company does. It’s important that you’re managing social media for a company that you actually care about, and if you can’t even tell what the company does from the job description, that’s a bad sign. “I have seen so many job listings that don’t actually tell you what the company is or what they do, and that means
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you have to do all that extra research. Applying for a job shouldn’t be a scavenger hunt,” says Trish. Green flag: There’s a healthy work-life balance. “Burnout is real in the social media space,” says Brayden. Work-life balance is something you can discuss with a potential employer, or even a LinkedIn connection working at the same company.
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You can also get a feel for the company culture by taking a look at their social media posts. Red flag: The job description is too long. “A really lengthy job description can mean that the employer doesn’t necessarily know what they are looking for or have realistic expectations,” says Trish. “Having five or six specific points shows that the employer knows what their goals are.”
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Green flag: There are opportunities for growth. Ask about this in a job interview (you know, at the very end when the boss asks “Any questions” and you suddenly forget your own name). Red flag: There’s no social marketing budget. To set you up for success, your company should provide you the resources you need—and one
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of those resources is money to boost ads and pay for subscriptions to invaluable social marketing tools. Green flag: You have the support you need. Even if you’re taking on the job of a solo social media manager, you don’t want to feel like you’re completely on your own. “If you’re going to be a one-person team, make sure that you have
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the tools and mentorship you need to succeed,” says Brayden.
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Working in social media is different from working in any other industry — and that means that you might not be “climbing the ladder” in a traditional way. “We get into this headspace where we always want to be chasing for more money or a better title,” explains Trish, “but sometimes there’s value in taking a step back and trying a role you weren’t expecting.”
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Especially if you’re pivoting to social media management from another type of work, you’ll likely find yourself at an entry-level job — but you don’t have to stay in it forever. “Sometimes taking a step back can open a door that didn’t exist before, and I would definitely encourage people not to be afraid of that,” says Trish. “A lot of the time, it’s not really a step back but more of a realignment.”
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Your resume is the very first impression that you make on a potential employer, and there’s a lot of competition out there—here are some tips to stand out from the crowd. Showcase your creativity and personality “Your resume shouldn’t just be on a blank page with writing on it — let’s see some creativity!” says Trish. Social media
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management is a job that requires originality, so you should be displaying that skill in your resume. Show, don’t tell. Brayden recomments showcasing your personality through the design, colors, or copy you use on your resume. “Make your resume social-first with its layout,” he says.
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Modify your resume for every job that you apply to Hey, no one said this would be easy. When applying to work in social media (or any industry, really), you should cater your resume to match the job description. “Always include the skills that the listing is asking for,” advises Trish. Read the job posting carefully and make sure your resume
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addresses all of the points required. You may even want to mirror the language from the ad to make it easy to match your experience to the requirements — especially in case the first sort is done by software. Show your industry experience You don’t necessarily need paid experience in order to put your best foot forward on your resume. Any concrete practical
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knowledge is worth highlighting, says Brayden— “even if it’s running social for your personal account, or school projects you did that aligned with social media.” Quantify your results Many organizations are focused on proving the ROI of social, so showcase experience that demonstrates that your social marketing strategies
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yield results. Including numbers from real-world wins goes a long way. For example, you could highlight the growth of social channels during your time managing them, the success of campaigns you ran, and so on.