I recently had the chance to interview Miriam Salpeter, author of Social Networking for Career Success: Using Online Tools to Create a Personal Brand and the owner and founder of Keppie Careers, a coaching and consulting firm helping job seekers and entrepreneurs leverage social media and other tools to achieve their goals.

I loved talking with Miriam about this topic because I know myself how many doors have opened for me because of my social media presence. With no online presence, you are just a needle in a haystack competing against thousands of other applicants for your dream job.

But, when you create an online reputation and establish yourself as an expert, it can open up so many doors for you. Social media can empower you to grow your reputation beyond your office and you can create a network of people who know you and respect you from all over the globe.

Highlights from the Miriam Salpeter interview

Social networking helps reverse the process of job searching from a push process to a pull process.

When you’re applying for jobs online, that’s a push process. Whereas using social media, you have the opportunity to attract possibilities in a magnetic way. To magnetically attract people who might be interested in you. That way, social media enhances your ability to find opportunities because it is not just all about applying for something, but instead it’s about putting out the expertise and getting somebody to touch base with you.

Use LinkedIn Better

In order to use LinkedIn well, you need not only a complete profile but you also have to think of ways to use LinkedIn to be social and to engage and interact with the community of people who you want to touch base with.

Find Your Audience

If you are overwhelmed with all of the social media platforms, find the intersection between your skills and where your audience spends its time. Once you know that, you can figure out where you need to be and what you really need to emphasize online.