Most people see social media as nothing more than a fun platform to socialize on and keep up to date with friends and celebrities. Instagram has become a popular app that helps it’s users showcase talents, post their selfies, and dabble in the art of photography. Innovative users have discovered that using Instagram can really help them increase exposure to their brand, skill set, or even just them personally. If you use the right hashtags, stay active, and get your name in with some of the right users, your Instagram account can turn into a constantly growing resume.
If you do it right, your account could be discovered, and you could be recruited for a great job in your field. This has landed several people jobs already! Instagram has actually created jobs for people and given employers a great, new way to not only seek out a larger audience but build their staff.
How can you use your Instagram account to get a job? It’s pretty easy! First, it’s best to make a whole new account apart from your personal one. As much as your friends love your cat and food posts, a potential employer may not. Once you’ve set up a more professional account, start looking at hashtags related to your industry, and begin posting!
To create a profile that is a resume, make sure you’re clear in what you do, and where you’re located. If you work as a designer of some sort, maybe add a link to a portfolio of your work. If you are in a more technical business, include a link to past work you’re proud of. Just make sure you add something in your bio that gives those reading a good idea of what you’re capable of.
Next, just fill your account up with content that showcases your skills! Instagram is visual based, so if you work in a job that revolves around visual aspects, you’re in luck. Other businesses may take a little more strategy, but if you include pictures of your office spaces, work in progress, and maybe some snapshots of events you help plan, you can still use Instagram to your benefit.
Once you have a good foundation for a profile, reach out! Follow big brands, little brands, new brands, and old brands. Comment and like pictures, stay active in the hashtags and don’t be afraid to use the messenger system to get the word out. Be available and answer any questions that people have for you, and try to make sure you’re interacting with those who are interested in your work. Establishing a strong following will gain you more attention from bigger businesses.
To stand out from the rest of the crowd, use online services such as Buzzoid.com to help increase your Instagram followers, likes and views. Your profile will stand out nicely from the rest if you already have a large number of followers and likes. Also to make sure your followers are real people there are ways of doing that as well.
The last step is to acknowledge the attention you get! Invite those showing interest to come and visit you in the workplace, or offer free services as a way to show off your talents. Whatever you decide to do, stick with it and keep working hard for your goal!