Employment Evergreen

5 Ways To Use Pinterest In Your Career Management

Written by Faizan Patankar

 

If you thought Pinterest was just for 20 something women looking at wedding ideas and the latest fashion trends, think again. Pinterest is a social bookmarking site which allows users to save images, links, videos and files and its popularity is growing. As is the way people are using it to search for inspiration on everything, including career management.

pinterest statistics 2014

In this article, we explore 5 ways to use Pinterest in your career management.

Once you have registered you can create boards, think of it a bit like an online scrapbook or an inspiration board where you might have cut out pictures from a magazine, now you just click on an image and ‘pin’ it to your board. You can have as many boards as you like, they can be publically available or secret.

You can follow other people and their boards, like their pins and share (re-pin) them. All of your public content can be shared and liked too. You can also link to content that you have found on a website or another board as well as to your own images which you have uploaded directly to Pinterest. Of course you can link to your other social media accounts which can be useful too. Helpfully Pinterest have created a guide in case you are stuck.

I am sure you think it sounds great, but how can you use Pinterest in your career management?

Whether you are pinning information to help you write a CV or application; the world’s toughest or most common interview questions; identifying your skills (or lack of them) or planning your dream job there is something for you.

You can add your own pins, linking to research or information that you have created.

If you are in a creative industry you might like to make your board publically available so employers can see your interests or information about yourself and the work you have done.

Here are five ways to use Pinterest in your career management:

1. Use Pinterest to research a potential career

You can use Pinterest to research a potential career. By typing in a search term e.g. careers pathways into the top navigation bar it brings up information and hopefully inspiration into different jobs. You can also search specific jobs.

Pinterest to research career potential

2. Follow career experts on Pinterest

You can follow Career Experts to get the most up to date advice whether you are new to the world of work, a seasoned employee or taking a career break. You can find inspirational quotes, videos, tools and ideas to help you find your perfect role. Ahem… you can Career Geek on Pinterest.

3. Use Pinterest in your career management by choosing right visual CV

Once you know what career you want to go into you can put your application together. This might be researching CVs, both traditional and creative; be sure of the type of company you are applying for so you apply appropriately.

Choose one which works best for you and the type of role you are applying for e.g. science roles will require a traditional CV, marketing roles can be much more creative. You can even create your own CV and pin it as an image or infographic.

4. Create a Pinterest board to showcase your skills

If you do want a more creative CV you could always create a board to showcase your skills and professional experience using pins to tell your story. They could link to work you have done online e.g. writing a blog or perhaps images you have uploaded. You might even like to pin photos of schools/universities you have attended, logos (with links) of companies you have worked for, any charity work you have done or your hobbies to show your achievements and interests.

Ensure, just as you would for a traditional CV that the content, style and tone is professional and appropriate for the role objectives. Use the text box under each image to describe how each pin relates to your career and why it’s important to you. Don’t forget to share it with friends, your LinkedIn profile and of course a hyperlink on your CV.

You can see some examples by searching for visual CV and infographic:

cv infographic examples on pinterest

5. You can learn about companies too

Lots of employers have embraced Pinterest to show the work they are doing, but also to demonstrate their culture and work environment – something that should be a consideration when applying to a company.

There are a couple of ways to see if an employer is on Pinterest, you can search using the navigation bar or alternatively use your search engine to find the Pinterest page of a company or organisation you are interested in.

It might be worth following specific boards they have, especially if they are relevant to your job aspirations/current role. You can re-pin, share or comment on their pins too. All these interactions will show up in their notifications and might bring you to their attention.

If you are a visual person then it can be a great way to get creative in your job searching or career inspiration but, as with other job searching methods using Pinterest in your career management shouldn’t take up all your time. That said, it is very addictive!

About Author: Charlotte Ashley-Roberts, is a Careers Adviser. Blogger. Mentor. Mum. Interested in coaching and mindfulness. Works for Royal Society of Chemistry. Find Charlotte on Twitter @CharlieCareers[twitter_follow username=”CharlieCareers” language=”en”] 

About the author

Faizan Patankar

I started Career Geek Blog in 2011 to share my experience in job-hunting. I now focus on careers industry and blogging is just a tool to share that info. Love hacking careers. During the day I focus on my hobby - Engineering.