Isn’t it funny that when something new comes along, one of our natural reactions is that we need to jump on it, or feel we’re left behind?
Pinterest is that something new, and many job seekers think we need to jump on it.
I don’t.
Check out this post from Jacob Share, at Job Mob, where he asks career professionals what they advise regarding Pinterest.
My advice was:
Jason Alba, JibberJobber: LOL I tell job seekers to stay away from Pinterest… for now. Unless you are in certain industries or professions, it’s a waste of time.
Many of the others had ideas on how to use it, but seriously, folks, I think there is plenty to worry about without trying to figure out if you need to be on Pinterest for a job search, with VERY FEW EXCEPTIONS.
Most interesting to me (aside from what some people advice on that post) is the comment by Peggy, a recruiter/coach, who says “Stay off Pinterest” in the first comment… and all of the supporting commentors.
What do you think? Is Pinterest a place for you to do your job search?
If you want an analogy, here’s one. Let’s say you are working on your car… and you need to buy a part for the engine. Would you to the craft store to buy that part?
That’s why I tell job seekers to not waste their time there.
Thoughts?
I haven’t spent a lot of time on Pinterest, although as someone who loves design and regularly uses lots of visuals in his blog posts, I could easily get addicted to it. So regarding its potential, you (“waste of time”) and Peggy (“time suck”) are both right (but that’s true of any social network!).
From the time I have spent on it though, I *don’t* get the impression that many job seekers think we need to jump on it. At least, they haven’t so far, based on the searches I’ve done. However, they should take some of the advice in the JobMob article and create at least a minimal but impressive presence on this exploding social network so they can be found there or on Google where their Pinterest profile will become another well-ranking search result.
That’s only a few hours’ work to get setup, and then occasionally respond to relevant messages. Beyond that, I agree that it’s likely a waste of time “unless you are in certain industries or professions” that are very active on the site.
Jacob, thanks for the in-depth response.
I agree with you on everything except for one critical point (which wasn’t really brought up before): Where does it end? How many networks does the job seeker need to spend just a couple of hours on (only to neglect later, and feel bad for leaving it neglected)?
Here’s an example of the noise and junk that job seekers hear: https://mashable.com/2012/02/19/niche-job-networking-websites/ This is 20+ social sites that job seekers need to know about… I’ve seen other articles like this, also. What job seeker wants to have 20+ accounts?
My point is simple: job seekers should hear from the experts which ones they should spend time on, and to avoid the rest. To many are hiding behind technology and not doing a real job search. Others are trying really hard with social tools, but there is an unlimited supply of next-generation social tools… it could be never-ending.
I think a very small percentage of job seekers will get much value out of anything outside of LinkedIn… but people continue to hype other tools. I know job seekers are frustrated, and so are coaches and counselors…
That’s a very good point, worthy of a blog post on its own: how many networks is too much? Where do you draw the line?
The answer: priorities. We all have limited resources (time-wise at least), so you have to pick and choose where you’ll get the most bang for your buck.
On the major social networks, there are so many people that you must have at least a minimal presence. At least in the US, Pinterest has now entered that elite group which is why I advocate every job seeking professional have that minimal presence at least.
As for niche networks, pick 1-2 that you think will be most relevant to your job search and trial 15 min a day for at least a month.