Have You Shown Interest in Pinterest, The New Social Network?

Have you prepared your candidate profile on Pinterest yet? Well, maybe you should do, because Pinterest is the next big social media superstar to be spawned from Silicon Valley and it is expected to follow in the footsteps of Facebook and Linked-In as a key social network. At last count in Spring this year, Pinterest had over 12,000,000 users and was growing at a record rate compared to other social networks in the past.

But, what is Pinterest? Pinterest is essentially a content sharing service that enables members to ‘pin’ images, videos and other objects to their pinboard, and it also includes social networking features.

Pinterest has already arrived in Dubai; check out the Dubai City site on Pinterest to see how it works – but make sure you finish reading this article first as it contains useful advice on career advancement using Pinterest.

While interest in Pinterest is growing, research tells us that the majority of recruiters are still hiring through Linked-In, followed by Facebook and then by Twitter. So, we’d recommend that you prepared your Pinterest page only after developing your professional profile on the three main social platforms. It is also worth noting that you can link your Pinterest boards to your accounts of Facebook and Twitter so even if employers aren’t visiting your Pinterest page they can visit it  indirectly from your other social network pages.

Pinterest is great for creative and design professionals

Pinterest is a very useful tool for professionals who work in marketing, PR, creative or design fields because  it is an excellent place for hosting a visual resume. As well as this, design and creative professionals can use Pinterest to host their entire portfolio. Research shows that the Pinterest users are mainly interested in: crafts and design, web statistics and analytics, PR, SEO and marketing, content management and blogging and resources and services – and so these are the best industry areas to try and network and find a job, as you are likely to find professionals and companies from these sectors in pinterest.

So now you know what Pinterest is and what its good for, here are  4 tips on how you can actually use Pinterest for job search and career advancement.

1.Optimize your Pinterest profile by changing your account settings so you appear in Google search results and make sure your profile description is loaded with key words relevant to your industry and profession. Make sure to include a photo and a link to your Linked-In profile or on-line CV so employers can find out more about you.

2.Create an online CV and portfolio. Pull together work samples and display them on one or more boards. Also, make sure to create a visual info-graphic CV (if you are in the creative field) and pin that on there too. A standard CV will suffice if you are not in the creative sector

3. Follow your favourite employers, university careers centres, jobs websites and careers sites that have boards on pinterest. For example, Bayt.com is on Pinterest.

4. Leave comments. You can communicate and network with career experts or other professionals in related fields by commenting on one of their pins. This should start a conversation which could of course lead to anything, possibly a job.

These tips are just meant to introduce you to this new exciting social networking medium known as Pinterest and it is by no means a definitive guide. Because its such a new medium, people are still working out new ways to use it, so the best thing to do is give it a go yourself.

About the author

Kazim Ladimeji is the Director of thecareercafe.co.uk—a resource for start-ups, small business and job seekers. It includes a blog with career and small business advice articles. Kazim is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and has been a practising HR professional for 14 years.

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