Today’s post is written by Alex Summers. Having spent long and arduous hours learning about business, marketing, and writing from respected minds while attending school, she now feels an obligation to spread the knowledge along with a fresh perspective. 

In today’s economy, it has become increasingly difficult to compete in the job market. Job seekers are expected to use whatever means available to get their name out there, including popular social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. The latest social media site to gain popularity on the internet is Pinterest, which allows users to link to pictures, articles, and blogs, adding them to their own collections or pin boards, providing descriptions and allowing comments from other users.

Here are five ways that you can promote yourself using Pinterest

Get Attention in Your Field

For job seekers, Pinterest can prove to be a useful tool for self-promotion. By gaining a large number of followers, the unemployed woman can increase her internet exposure to professionals in her field. A user might start a pin board titled “nursing” and another titled “South University in Richmond” to attract the attention of human resources professionals with faculty positions for nurses at South University in Richmond.

Find Others With Your Interests

Searching for other users with similar interests and leaving comments on their pins will aid in increasing their visibility on the site. If searching for employment in a specific area, like West Palm Beach, Florida, the job seeker could simply perform a search for pin boards highlighting that city. They might find a pin board titled “West Palm Beach College” and leave comments or ask about jobs on the pins found there.

The board could be owned by a faculty member or student with knowledge of current openings. A primary goal of women seeking employment should be to increase their visibility throughout all social media sites. Potential employers use these sites with greater frequency, spending less of their advertising budget on printed media or broadcast services and turning to the internet to find qualified applicants. After establishing an account and creating a few pin boards, it is important to gain followers and follow other boards with similar tastes.

Want to learn more about using Pinterest successfully? Check out our course: Pintastic: How Pinterest 10x’d My Business 

Use Geographic Search Terms

Use geographic search terms to find pin boards of users in the area where you hope to get an interview. Seek out pinners in similar fields by searching for pin boards specific to your field, like “nursing” or “paralegal” and the location that you want to get a job in.

Like and Comment

Remember to leave lots of comments or use the opportunity to ask questions. Following these steps will increase your visibility on Pinterest. If you want to promote yourself using Pinterest, you have to engage with other users on an organic level, not just in order to get something out of the interaction. 

Get Googled

Pinterest is climbing the ranks for search terms, and as you use Pinterest, you will quickly see that as someone searches for your name, your Pinterest profile will come up.  Hiring managers will have a much better chance of seeing your board, so I recommend that you create a work portfolio.  For example, if you are an artist, create a board with all your art.  If you are a graphic designer, create a board with all of the websites you have designed.  If you are a speaker make sure you create a board with all of your previous and upcoming speaking engagements.  Use it is a place to help hiring managers and recruiters visualize your resume with photos.  Also, it doesn’t hurt to have a photo of yourself either!

The popularity of social media sites has soared in recent years. Success in the job market for employable women will depend upon embracing modern technology and taking the time to familiarize themselves with sites like Pinterest.

Have tried to promote yourself using Pinterest? What has worked for you?