Reduce days of company research to just hours, and stand out in a memorable way from your competition.
Sheldon was a solid accountant with up-to-date skills and solid references. For years, he had prepared for a managerial role, until one day, he got the interview call from one of the finest accounting firms in DFW.
He could have assumed his qualifications and experience were all the advantages he needed, but he chose not to delude himself. For decades, this firm has attracted the brightest accountants from all over the country, and Sheldon would need to distinguish himself in an unforgettable way to be the last candidate standing.
He decided he would learn more about the company’s recent news, culture, diversity initiatives, policies, and financial health than any of his competitors were likely to learn. He could have spent weeks Googling for daily news and scouring social platforms for the latest discussions. But instead, he downloaded a social media monitoring tool and accomplished in hours what might have taken days.
Social media monitoring tools (applications) are commonly used by companies to keep abreast of what is being said in their industry and about their business, curate relevant content, capture insights, and engage with their audiences through various social platforms. These tools are also ideal for job hunters in preparation for interviews. They allow you to monitor conversations and news developments on social platforms. These apps can be used to uncover breaking industry news and the latest trends, as well as conversations about companies and brands. You can even use them to learn about the employee community and company culture, and to connect with company insiders who may be able to answer any questions you have. Typically, with social monitoring tools, information is automatically delivered to you in real time, via an easy-to-read interface. These are the five applications we recommend most to interviewees:
Create custom streams of organized content by keywords, hashtags, and location
Hootsuite is a comprehensive package of social media management tools. Its monitoring tool lets you “listen” to conversations on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, WordPress, FourSquare, and Google+. You can find conversations by keyword, hashtag, and location. Beyond its applications for job interview preparation, you can also use Hootsuite to develop a more active social media presence, by scheduling posts across your social accounts, from one application. Many add-on applications are available to further enhance the capabilities of Hootsuite, so if you are going to start with one social monitoring tool, make Hootsuite your first.
See what content is getting attention by topic or company
As an interviewee, you need to know what’s trending in your industry, and how it relates to your prospective company and position. Buzzsumo takes your keywords and analyzes the content that is out there, leading you to the content is getting the most attention. Just imagine your interviewers discussing how uncanny it is that you seem to be aware of everything going on with the company and in the industry!
Monitor unlimited keywords across “the front page of the internet”
You’re probably familiar with Reddit, the social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website. It’s known as the front page of the internet, and it’s a great portal for starting your news search on a prospective employer. The Reddit Keyword Monitor Pro app is a Hootsuite add-on that lets you find and filter reddit content through keywords, and see it all in real-time on your Hootsuite interface. It’s also a great way to engage your professional network, by sharing and discussing some of the most important content you come across online.
Real-time tracking, organizing, and engagement for Twitter
This is Twitter’s free management dashboard. Use TweetDeck to monitor mentions of your prospective employer, brands, and products, as well as keywords, hashtags, and employee accounts. It’s all presented in easy-to-read columns.
Monitor company information across social platforms
This tool aligns closely with what many social media managers are charged with—monitoring social media performance across channels. What we like about it is that it broadens your exposure to social media conversations by including channels that are typically not found in other social media monitoring tools, like Meetup, Blogger, WordPress, Digg, and Vimeo. This tool can show you trending conversations from up to 36 popular websites.
When your job interview competition is strong, don’t rely on your skills and experience alone. Pull out an unconventional card that your competitors can’t match. Social media monitoring may just be your ace in the hole!