Most people view and use Facebook as a purely social tool which allows you to interact and keep in touch with long lost friends, tell the whole world what you are doing at that exact moment, and to express your feelings and emotions on a wide range of issues. But Facebook is also becoming a professional tool where a job seeker could find their next job, and it is different than LinkedIn because with Facebook there is increased direct connection between companies and consumers.

Twitter, another social media tool primarily viewed in it social terms, can also fit into your job hunt as many individuals are now moving to Twitter to position themselves as experts in their field and help leverage their careers. To start you should build your profile by using your Twitter bio as your job pitch and use a tag line that reflects your professionalism and where you want to be. On the same note, ensure your Facebook page is professional and is set up the privacy settings you want. If you have pictures on Facebook you would be embarrassed if a Recruitment Agency saw, think about removing those pictures.

Both your Twitter and Facebook feeds need to represent you as a professional individual that has important, unique and relevant thoughts to contribute. You should be sharing or commenting on links that are relevant to your followers, and shows you as a subject matter expert. Your goal should be to become an industry expert – or at least post like one. This way people will start following you, and you will be on the radar when a recruiter or company is searching for their next expert.

In addition to establishing yourself as an industry expert on Twitter, you should also follow professionals in your industry that are also positing themselves as industry experts. Another thing to keep in mind is to see who is following you, look at their profile and see whom they are following.

Most companies (or at least the bigger companies) have a Facebook page, LinkedIn profile, and are on Twitter. As you as an applicant, this gives you an advantage and opportunity to actually speak to someone at the company, and an even better chance of speaking directly to the Human Resources Manager. By following companies on Facebook and Twitter you will be in the know when a company adds a new position, how the interview process works, or what type of applicant they are looking for. See if you are connected to any employees in the companies you want to work for, either through Facebook or Twitter, and they might be able to help get you in the door.

If you never thought of Facebook as a social media tool that could help you with your job search, you could have also overlooked your Facebook connections. By posting a message on your wall either linking to your website or resume can give your job search process a boost and since Facebook connections tend to be stronger and more personal than LinkedIn or Twitter connections, they could be some of your strongest supporters, going out of their way to walk your resume and promote your skills to the hiring manager.

The last thing to do is from time to time as your network grows, is Tweet and post on Facebook that you are looking for a job or a new opportunity. An occasional reminder is enough to make them aware you are on the job search and to think of you when an opportunity arises. The best career advice that can be given to job seekers right now is to use social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, in their job search and believe it could find your next job for you.