The Worst, Most Self-Defeating Excuses For Not Using Social Media In A Job Search

From the “Trying New Stuff Is Hard, But Unemployment And/Or Staying In A Sucky Job Is Harder” Department:

Social media career consultant and CAREEREALISM blogger Josh Waldman has compiled a list of the top three reasons why people don’t use social media for job searches.

Waldman notes that the three reasons he cites usually are concocted inside the brains of people feeling stressed out and overwhelmed, which really are manifestations of fear. Nearly all of us been down that unpleasant road (I used to get my mail delivered there), so it’s not a knock on those people. His post is intended to help reduce the fear of social media that grips many job seekers. As he writes, “If you can name your resistance, it will have less power over you.”

Here are Waldman’s top three social media bogeymen:

I’m Too Old or I’m Too Young

I Don’t Like Spending so Much Time in Front of Computers

I’m Overwhelmed and Don’t Know Where to Start

The second reason, of course, generally is a lesser concern for media professionals, whose poor eyesight, hunched shoulders, carpal tunnel syndrome and ghostly pallor (and I’m not just speaking for myself) are testament to their years in front of a computer screen. But the first and last reasons are widespread and often crippling.

Regarding the first, Waldman acknowledges that “Age-ism is real.” But, he says, “Social media is NOT about your age. It’s about your willingness to try new things and your openness to getting different results.” So, yeah, you’re old (or young; age-ism can cut both ways), but until you get over it, you can’t expect others to get over it. So get over it. Besides, what choice do you have?

As for not knowing where to start, Waldman recommends breaking down the task into small bits, thus making it less intimidating. Contemplating writing a 500-page novel is a lot scarier than saying, “Today I’m going to write 1,000 words — and then get drunk!” Waldman recommends:

Take a part of social media, like your LinkedIn profile, and spend a day mastering it. Then move on to Groups, spend a day, master it. And so forth.

Here’s another way of looking at it, and this is from me, not Waldman: A lot of idiots are using social media. So why not you? I hope that helps.

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