Psst! Pass it on… what social media can do for your HR career

Last year I blogged about how important the relationship between HR and Marketing is and more recently a few people have asked me “how do I do it?” so I thought a quick blog about the benefits of creating a personal brand.

You often hear the phrase “people don’t buy a product, they buy from people they like” and this may be true, but the future outlook on not only job applications but also upon our abilities to network effectively are changing due to the influence of social media.

Love it or hate it, we tend to have a very marmite view when it comes to social media, but it is widely known that as the world of work evolves, social media is now an essential business tool and it can make or break a brand.

Branding is a mix of how you present yourself, what information you can offer other professionals, learning and understanding how others see you. It is important to be aware of how you are viewed as it can mean all the difference when going for that dream role or if you want to be taken more seriously.

Personal Branding is not a fad and it’s certainly not new, think Sir Richard Branson; it is simply about identifying your resources, experiences, strengths, and skills. Understanding this and how to utilise it effectively will provide advantages in your professional life by allowing you to freely showcase what you have to offer, by way of opinion such as connecting and discussing HR topics. Great way to do this is to participate in active discussions on social media networks LinkedIn and Twitter.

By being an active person in these forums, you can engage and interact with likeminded professionals; it allows you to learn different perspectives from others, which may give you ideas on projects you’re working on, understand and overcome difficult challenges, and it can be really helpful if you are studying for your CIPD qualification.

The truth is, by being active on my blog and Twitter has opened so many doors for my career, I have also met some incredible people who I speak to regularly and enhanced my network which has given me so much support and in turn, I have been able to support them. It even landed me a sponsorship deal with ICS Learn which is incredible so I’m incredibly thankful to them and social media for making that possible.

When it comes to expanding your existing knowledge, there are a plethora of HR professionals who blog regularly and that I have learnt so much from; some of my favourites include Ian Pettigrew @KingfisherCoach, Gem Dale @HR_Gem, David D’Souza @dds180, Mark Hendy @markswhrf, and Karen Teago @teago_emplaw. The reason I’ve picked out this lovely bunch is because whilst they’re all individual and cover different topics, their blogs are engaging and realistic, if you are seeking regular information, then the HR blogs are definitely the place to go to.

One thing I have learnt from running my own social media accounts, is how incredibly time consuming it is, and whilst I love it and am happy to do it, it’s like having a relationship! You have to spend time with it, feed it information, provide support to others and ensure the content is relevant otherwise it will get lost in the feeds so make sure you are engaging, again David is the master at this so do check out his feed.

Another point to make is keep it you, there’s no point going out there and copying someone else’s work, at first you may feel silly doing it and thinking “what on earth do I have to offer?” that’s silly in itself. Everyone has something to offer, and when I started this little blog two years ago, I couldn’t have imagined that people would read it let alone notice the doors that would open for me once I got started. The first thing to remember is to always keep it authentic and try not to be someone you are not.

In short, social media has transformed my career, it doesn’t happen overnight but when you start interacting and learning, it can be difficult to put down! On a serious note, I have met some wonderfully supportive people in the tough times and continue to have my back to this day. Thank you guys, you know who you are!

If you’re new to social media and would like to share your new blog, please post it in the comments below and I’ll give you a follow! Also do get in touch via Twitter @natalieellishr or LinkedIn, I look forward to connecting with you.