Can Facebook advertising get you a job?
Filed under: Entrepreneur, Work & Careers, Technology and Online
My friend Marian finished University earlier this year. She went to Davidson in America and she wants to get a job in publishing. I've never seen such a full scale assault on the publishing world. Within three weeks she'd set up a blog about publishing, got herself a Twitter account to promote herself and perhaps most interestingly, she got herself some Facebook advertising. Targeted towards publishing houses who might want to hire her, it got her noticed.Marian now has a job as a junior publicist for a publishing PR company. Obviously I'm thrilled for her, but I'm also very impressed with just how far she went to get her dream job (straight after University I was selling insurance over the phone to pay the bills). Unemployment is currently over 7% now. But it strikes me that if people are as resourceful as Marian has been and went that extra mile, maybe they'd find themselves with better job offers.
Would Marian's tough approach work in the UK? I'm not so sure. I'd love to think it would, but I think it would have to be toned down slightly. We're still quite traditional over here and whilst some companies love approaching things radically, there are some that do things by the book and that won't change.
But that doesn't mean that your approach can't be creative. Last year, when I was looking for more work, I was sulking and said "there are no jobs out there". Someone pointed out that there were jobs, I was just looking in the wrong places. Two hours later and I'd applied for more work than I had in the previous week. Sometimes looking in unusual places, or even approaching a company directly can pay dividends.
I don't like using the phrase 'thinking outside the box' but I think in this instance it rings true.
Marian found a job in her chosen career. She has proven that she was willing to go further than any other candidate applying for the jobs. But she still had to apply for work. She still had to deal with rejection. Going the extra mile doesn't guarantee you a job, but it will make you stand out. And if you're pitted against someone else in the same situation as you, that's what will get you the job.
No matter how special you think you are, almost everyone applying for that perfect job is as good as you. So do something that makes you stand out. Think about how you can make yourself more employable than anyone else you're going up against. The good jobs are out there, we just need to fight for them a little bit harder. Facebook ads might not be the way to go for your industry, but blogging about your working world, interacting on Twitter with people you want to work for and getting involved in what's going on. That's what will make you stand out.
Wouldn't you want to hire someone that passionate?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-24-2009 @ 1:52PM
Marian Schembari said...
Thanks for the kind words Sian! The encouragement is always appreciated... ;-)
Reply
9-28-2009 @ 3:30AM
William said...
No that wouldn't work in the uk cause them damn immigrants are taking up the jobs. did i mention the illegal ones mainly.
Reply
9-28-2009 @ 8:18AM
bryan edwards said...
Nice article. I think that doing anything that's not completely wacky can get you noticed - even different coloured paper for your c.v. or offering to do a week's work experience free of charge before you are interviewed. Or just following up your application with a quick 'Is there any other information I can supply' phone call, just to start building rapport and interest.
If you're looking for a job, have a look at http://www.abctrainingsolutions.biz/cvandinterviewpreparationguide.html.
Happy Days!
Bryan
Reply
9-28-2009 @ 8:40AM
David said...
I recently went on a course with an outfit called Evoltions, It was unbelievable! It cost my folks over £900 but they said compaired to the rest of the money they'd spent on my education this gave them the most payback, Two days professional actors camera playback you name it. I got the first job I applied for after the training even though they contracted to prepare me for up to three, more if I wanted them.
Not cheap but, brilliant. check em on;
www.evolutionsuk.co.uk
Reply
10-02-2009 @ 8:13AM
The Debt Collector said...
Sorry to be the damper on all the positivie statements made to date on this subject but: I notice that most of the respondents to date are clearly under the age of 25. Regrettably, I have to agree with William (03:30) the vast majority of work has gone "Off-shore", or alternatviely illegal immigrants taking jobs in the UK, indeed much of Europe and not being put through the pay-roll.
These people do not officially exist. That is because they have never registered with the DWP or DSS, and therefore do not have a National Insurance Number. Employing these people is very cheap for the employer who wants to keep his outgoings to a minimum. They are also very difficult to trace. It reminds me of the Sweat Shops in the East End of London in th 1950's.
Thanks to Messrs Brown and Darling, it has never been more expensive to employ a native Britain who is registered in this Country and carries a UK Passport. (And forget the identity card bit, because that will not kill off the issue of illegal immigration, as the Government are trying to sell it!) the cost of employing someone, once you have taken Holiday pay, National Insurance, and now compulsory pensions, it costs twice the gross salary of the employee. That is to say if a person is being paid £20K pa, the cost to the employer is nearer £40K.
In theory as an Island, we should be able to have the tightest Boarder control in the world: the truth is that we don't. Further, with the advent of the Internet, it is even cheaper to "delegate" your work off-shore, since there is no real reason for a person to visit the office more than once a quarter. Ironically, it is even easier to sneak people in without the relevant work permits, thanks to Euro Star/The Channel Tunnel. I have used it and found that the Boarder control was useless; even a twelve year old could have bluffed their way through as a ligitimate immigrant if they had wanted to.
As Britain is about to find out, we are going to have a repeat performance of the 1970's when we had the "brain-drain" where all the qualified and skilled people left the Country; most of them never to return, including their family. We are also going to have the immigration problem which was predicted by Enoch Powell in the 1960's.
Face book probably can get you a job, but only in the lower pay brackets; since it appears to me that most employers only want button pushers,to read standard questions off a cue-card. They do not want people who can think or dare to question the reason why a certain procedure is in place.
Further, the same employers are not prepared to invest in these employees by providing them with training so that those on the end of the phone actually know what they are talking about.
Reply
10-05-2009 @ 8:45PM
Marian Schembari said...
Two things, both in reference to Debt's comments:
1. When did this become about immigration?
2. I get quite a bit of money at said job -- in fact, I was aiming to work at a large publishing house but my ads were so well received, I ended up in a position with more money, responsibility and influence than I would have otherwise. So unfortunately, I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one.
For those of you not turning this into a political issue (???), thanks again for the positive feedback!
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