Influence End Game - Social Media Job Tactics

By Chris Delaney

Everyone can agree that social media is playing a key part in your job search activities, with a reported 60% of employers checking you online presence to get an insight into your lifestyle and work ethic, to candidates applying for positions via Twitter and LinkedIn.

As with the job interview you can use influence and persuasion on social media platforms to manipulate the outcome. The tactics below will give your social media job search techniques the upper hand; this is not a short term technique for low salaries, this technique will take time and planning and works well for those in sectors where salaries are influenced by the applicant's knowledge and expertise.

Social Media Manipulation

One of our basic instincts is the impulse to reciprocate when someone does something for us. We have a habitual feeling of indebtedness, a need to repay in kind something that another person has done for us.

This principle can be introduced in your social media job search tactics, so the potential employer feels obliged to return your service and offer you the opportunity to interview. The key to a successful online sector presence is to be seen as an authority, as we believe and respect others who we deem to be an expert.

Create an Authority

Share your industry expertise and sector knowledge with employers online by adding observations, advice and answering sector questions on online forums. Explain how your shared knowledge will profit the organization, how you can increase efficiency, how your insights will increase income or reduce overhead cost.

Distribute online, any expert tips, innovative ideas and your specialist knowledge. Write blog posts for sector websites, create informative articles for industry magazines and use sector communities and groups on G+, Linked-in and other social media platforms.

This online explosion of informative information will help you create an online authority, with your articles and post being linked to an online profile (linked-in, about-me or an online CV/Resume) others, including potential employers will start to recognise your name as your authority continues to grow.

Baiting the Trap

At this stage don’t apply for positions, instead let the employers come to you. You will find that as a perceived expert in your industry you will be approached first online, for insights, answers to questions and for quotes for sector magazines. Freely answer these queries as this will create an indebtedness that you can use to your advantage.

You have now gained compliance from sector influencers by completing unselfish gestures such as sharing excellent cost-saving advice. People like to do favours for those that have helped them out. When contacted directly for your expertise, follow up your advice up by asking if they know of any leading companies who are looking for new talent? The employer you shared your expertise with will be happy to introduce you or at the minimum to discus you with employers who are potentially recruiting someone with your capability.

In essence you are getting leading sector professionals to cold call for you, but as a third party with a commitment to reciprocate your good deed they will sell you to the employer, discussing how you have a massive online presence, excellent sector knowledge and how they, an expert in the industry, come to you for sector advice.

Once You Offer It Take It Away

To help make quicker decisions, we look for social proof. We make choices more easily through other people’s opinions as we take proof from the actions and advice of others. If a competitor, business associate or employee says that a certain person is worth hiring we are more likely to interview the candidate, compared to interviewing the applicant from their application alone.

People always want what they can’t have and scarcity will increase the value of objects. Remember at this stage you haven’t applied for the position, you have made yourself into an authority and influenced others to approach sector leaders to discuss your expertise. If the new employer contacts you, they are interested in what you have to say – they have probably read and enjoyed some of your online content and listened as others told them how valuable you are

Make yourself scarce, unique or valuable. When the employer invites you down for an informal chat, you can play the scarcity card. Again as you did online share valuable information, ideas and information, as the employer will think "if he is telling me this during an informal chat what will he share if I hire him?"

Once the employer is captivated take away the idea that you want to work for them. Start to discuss other offers of employment or how you have mentioned that you are always on the lookout for a good opportunity but you are not actually actively job searching. Be careful not to overdo it here. If the employer is over-enthusiastic with the thought of hiring you and you hint that you won’t accept the job offer, the employer will have a desire to increase the offered salary to ensure you take the offered position.

Chris Delaney is an Interview Coach at www.employmentking.co.uk and the author of The 73 Rules for Influencing the Interview using Psychology, NLP and Hypnotic Persuasion Techniques

 

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