Here are some Case Studies detailing how individuals have used Social Media to find jobs.

Ken Flaherty used Twitter to find a job.
Using online social networking can be a very successful method to find a job. For example, Kyle Flaherty was once part of a successful marketing firm, but left that job in Boston to search for an in-house public relations job. He tweeted about his decision and included a link to his professional blog, which described the work he was looking for. After that, he tweet was “retweeted”, or forwarded to his current boss in Austin, Texas. Flaherty stated, “I don’t think I would have gotten this if not for Twitter”. CLICK HERE to read the article on Forbes.com.

Brian Ward used all Social Media’s with his Resume.
Another example of using online social networking to find a job is the example of Brian Ward. He was a Cleveland-based software architect that searched for a new job using Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. He immediately began sending his information to all of his online contacts, and updated his online profiles with new resúmés.  After this, a buddy from high school wrote him back. His friend worked for a tech company in Louisiana, and asked Ward if he would be interested in working with the Web-development group. Brian agreed and had a phone interview the next day. He only had four hours of unemployment, and had already scored a phone interview. CLICK HERE to read the article on Time.com.

Dr. Robert Vaksman used Social Media to grow his business.
When most people hear of a company using social media to promote their business and facilitate customer service they probably think of some tech-savvy retail store or restaurant. However, Dr. Robert Vaksman was able to incorporate the use of social media into growing his dentist practice. He is using Facebook as a way to attract customers to his office, and is able to post reviews of customer’s experiences and speak with his patients, or potential patients. Being a small business, it was difficult for Dr. Vaksman to obtain a loan, and, working with a limited, he felt that utilizing social media was a “no-brainer.” He now says that “…19% of their traffic referrals to their website has been through Facebook and there’s an upward trend in traffic”. CLICK HERE to read the article on Network Solution’s Blog.

Stacey Hood used Social Media to become Marketing Director.
Stacey Hood of AL is another example of finding a job using social media. On August 30th he suddenly lost his job after a company merged and a week later he found a new job and new freelance clients thanks to social networking (p. 1). Hood became the director of marketing for a local software company by branding himself on Twitter, his Facebook page and on an agency’s Facebook page. Due to his Twitter post, he got multiple leads on freelance clients and was even offered jobs with some friend’s companies.  CLICK HERE to read more about this story on Birmingham Blogging Academy.

Daniel Winfield using Social Media to network for leads & become a VP of Digital Media.
Daniel Winfield of Seattle is a prime example of someone who used social media effectively to get a job. After being laid-off from a public relations firm and unable to find a new job, Daniel become more involved with a social media club and found that his resume was no different from hundreds of other people’s. He decided that he really needed to differentiate himself from all the others and decided that Facebook was a great way to do so. He created a fan page of Facebook and began creating targeted ads towards companies that he was interested in. “They would see an ad from me that said ‘You need Doug Winfield’ followed by a description of who I am.” Through these targeted ads he got 477,000 views and eventually a job! He got offered the position of vice president of digital corporate practice of MS&L in New York because of his savvy social networking.