Being in a creative industry is not always about your education or experience you need to be able to show off your skills, and social media is a great tool to do that. You have your portfolio or maybe even a website, but your social media accounts are where you will be doing your networking and is another great option in addition to a website to showcase your work.
In our new world of media you are constantly sharing your life on social media and connecting with your friends or even people you’ve never met across the world. When Facebook, Instagram and Twitter started they were strictly for personal use, then after a couple years companies started to realize that this is how to market and advertise to reach the younger demographic. Brands and companies then started to create their own social media accounts to engage with their audience and create their own platform online. Social media as now transformed from being a simple space to share and connect with friends to having a mini portfolio/resume online.
Employers have said that one of the first things they look at now when receiving job applications is their social media, now this is mostly for creative industries and not your everyday job. They said you can really get a sense of a person from what they post, and also if you are looking to be in a creative field your profile should reflect that and showcase your work. This might upset some since social media used to be a safe space to post whatever they want but this is the reality of our world today.
My suggestion to you is create separate accounts that are personal and private if you still want to have your space to share photos with friends and drop the high-pressure of always posting “Instagram-Perfect” photos. Have an account that is primarily for building your personal brand and this is where you will post about what type of work you do, samples of your work, and network with others in your industry. Social media is a great tool to connect with others when you’re either trying to build your own business or looking for a job in the fashion industry.
Remember different social media platforms are good to target different audiences, when putting your social media accounts on your resume if you’re a visual artist (so in fashion that could be stylist, creative director, graphic designer) then maybe Instagram would be best, whereas if you’re a writer Twitter could be a better option for you…bonus points if you can find a way to ace all your accounts (great social media manager asset!) Whatever account you do use to put on your resume make sure it looks professional enough to have potential employers looking at it but you don’t want it to seen too boring, so you could have great images and aesthetic and give a witty caption or something that will show off your personality.
Do you really need a following on ALL social media platforms? The answer to this is no. If you’re someone just looking for a job in the industry and are using a platform like Instagram to showcase your work then you don’t need to have a massive following or accounts on every platform. However, if you’re someone who wants to blog full-time or build your own business then mastering every social media platform is key, the more you promote yourself and your business across several platforms the more reach you will get. If you’re looking to do any sort of Social Media Management or even Marketing, showing off your ability to gain a following across different apps will be a huge asset.
Yes, social media is still a part of your resume now but don’t forget about your real portfolio! You should still have both a hard and online version of your portfolio to show a potential employer during a meeting or interview. Don’t forget to still have fun with your social media accounts while still networking with others.
