Looking for a job in social media or the tech space? You probably already have a LinkedIn account and maybe even Twitter. If you’re really serious about personal branding, you might even have your own Facebook Page. Where else can you build your personal profile and showcase your expertise? Why not Quora, the online question and answer community?
Here are twelve ways to use Quora as a platform to build your reputation, establish your expertise and get on the radar of recruiters and company execs for potential employment.
1. Fill Out Your Bios
Quora provides plenty of places where you can summarize your expertise including your main bio and Topic Bios, based on your experiences around a particular topic. When you first sign up, Quora feeds you some initial topics on your profile page where you can elaborate on your expertise, but you can add a topic bio for yourself on any topic page. Craft your topic bios keeping in mind that only the first handful of words will show up next to your name and only when you participate in conversations under that particular topic.
2. Invite Your Networks
When you join Quora, the site populates your account with some suggested followers to get you started, based partly on your own contacts if you access the site through Facebook, Twitter or e-mail. Quora rotates suggestions of additional people to invite from your network. Inviting people you already know sets a level of quality to your following. Your participation on Quora can show people who already know you in one venue a different side of you – and your expertise – that can lead to new opportunities.
3. Follow Company Execs
Identify the key players connected with companies you’ve targeted as places where you’d like to work. In some cases, the CEOs and other executives of tech companies, particularly startups, are already on Quora. The same goes with leaders of social media agencies, as well as social media directors of brands and organizations. Review their bios and peruse their participation on Quora via their profile pages. Follow anyone relevant to your job search. Don’t forget recruiters. You can also find people to follow on Quora through the Trending Topics and People entries on your Quora home page although this may be a little less fruitful than searching directly for company or industry mentions.
4. Follow Relevant Questions and Topics
Start searching Quora for the topics and questions that already exist on the site that could be relevant to your job search. In fact, start by following job search-related topics such as: jobs, job hunting, job search, employment, hiring, careers, career advice, career choices, career transitions. The topics and questions you follow are published on your Quora profile page and can help suggest to others that you are seeking employment while also providing you with advice during your job hunt.
Next, search for keywords pertinent to your target industry. For example, if you’re looking for a job in social media, search for social, social media, social media marketing, social networks, and even specific social media tools by name.
Finally, if you’ve identified companies where you’d like to work, search for those company names and follow both topics and related questions. Keep in mind whatever you follow appears on your profile page.
5. Comment Thoughtfully
Before jumping in to answer questions on Quora, start by commenting on other people’s answers. Use comments to add to someone’s answers or ask for clarification. More seasoned Quora users use comments to warn people that their answers aren’t relevant, but if you are looking to build your Quora profile for a job search, keep your comments positive and appropriate. You can also comment on actual questions to ask for additional information. Comments aren’t prominent on question pages, however, the person who asked or answered are notified about your comments. Don’t comment gratuitously.
6. Vote Up Others’ Answers
Read through the answers that questions have received in areas where you have an expertise. If someone has already provided a thorough answer that you feel is a quality response, vote it up. Up votes should be given after careful consideration, not indiscriminately. Your name appears next to the voting buttons when you up vote an answer and remains visible until several more people vote. Up-voting is a nice gesture – when well-deserved – that can bring you to someone’s attention. Refrain from down-voting answers while in job search mode to keep your Quora ranking high.
7. Pick Questions to Answer
Searching by topic or keywords related to your knowledge, skills and abilities can lead you to questions that may be advantageous for you to answer. Assess any existing responses to those questions. Have all the bases been covered, or is there value you can add to the conversation? Do you have a response that is significantly different from what is already there? “Me, too” responses are generally frowned upon, especially if you don’t elaborate and provide additional information that hasn’t yet been shared. Sometimes you can have a greater impact by responding to questions that don’t yet have answers. You can find unanswered questions by clicking on the “Answer Open Questions” tab on your Quora home page.
8. Answer Questions With Care
Quora gives you the ability to save drafts of your answer before you actually publish them. Take advantage of the draft mode to organize your thoughts. If appropriate, reference other answers that have been given if you are elaborating on them. If you are the first to answer, look to set the bar by being organized, thorough and direct. Don’t give an opinion as an answer unless the question is asking for opinions.
Temper self-promotion in your responses. Reference yourself only if relevant to the question being asked, not because you want to draw attention to yourself in every answer you give. You’ll get far better attention from answering questions well than tooting your own horn.
9. Ask Strategic Questions
Some people ask questions that they can answer themselves as a way of showing what they know. Instead of answering your own questions, ask questions that really matter to you and where getting answers from others can open up a dialogue for networking.
Since you’re on a job search, ask questions about honing your search, how you can leverage your network, how you can put your best foot forward in social networks, even who’s hiring in the industries or geographic regions you’ve pinpointed for your search.
Ask questions about companies. Identify prospective companies to pursue for employment by asking questions about the types of companies where you’d like to work. If you’re narrowing down your target list for employment, ask direct questions about each company’s corporate culture or other questions that will give you insights into those companies.
10. Tag Your Questions
Asking questions on Quora can sometimes feel like talking into a void. If you haven’t built up a following or profile, getting your questions answered can take time or not happen at all. Be patient but also make sure you tag your questions with appropriate topics. Be thorough and strategic, but don’t overdo it. If you discover a topic that is relevant to a question you’ve already asked, you can add it to your question at any time.
11. Post to Your Following
On your Quora profile page, you can post content, and your followers will see a notification in their feed. Some Quora members use posts like a blog, while others repurpose or reference blog posts they’ve published elsewhere. Make sure what you post sets you up in a positive light to potential recruiters or employers. Your posts can be voted up by others, increasing your visibility.
12. Endorse Others
In the same way that voting up someone’s answer can put you on their radar, endorsing them can do the same. Don’t go overboard. Use this tactic sparingly and give kudos to people who you trust as experts in particular areas. There can be a bit of reciprocity if you endorse someone who knows you and knows your strengths – they may in turn endorse you which can’t hurt in terms of credibiilty on Quora.
Many of the above suggestions are based on best practices for interacting within any online community, and they can prove effective on Quora over time. Participating thoughtfully on Quora can make a good impression on both the Quora community and potential employers who are using Quora to identify worthy job candidates.
Social Media Job Listings
Every week we put out a list of social media and web job opportunities. While we post a huge range of job listings, we’ve selected some of the top social media job opportunities from the past two weeks to get you started. Happy hunting!
- Social Media Marketing Analyst at Barnes & Noble in New York, NY.
- Social Media – Senior Manager at Eileen Fisher in New York, NY.
- Social Marketing Coordinator at FEED Company in Los Angeles, CA.
More Job Search Resources from Mashable:
- HOW TO: Land a Job at 9 Hot Startups
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- HOW TO: Land a Business Development Job
- Top 5 Tips for Creating Impressive Video Resumes
- 19 Resources to Help You Land a Job in 2011
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