LinkedIn or Xing?

Social networks have so far hardly crossed the minds of young Chinese applying for a job in Germany. This is particularly surprising because most young Chinese use social media channels very intensively.

Career advisors like Jochen Mai have been pointing out for years that anyone who wants to get a job at a reputable company cannot avoid being creative in their job search. And that was exactly what I was trying to achieve in a lecture I gave in Chongqing last Wednesday: encouraging Chinese university graduates to try new approaches to their job search.

Whether it’s Weixin or Weibo: Young people in China now use social networks for a variety of commercial activities. When it comes to “online branding”, however, most Chinese people still think in a rather one-dimensional way. The majority see themselves as consumers and use social media primarily to watch videos or computer games and to exchange opinions via chat.

“Few of us realize that online media are excellent tools for creating a positive image and attracting the attention of potential employers,” says Zhang Yu Ming, an IT student from Sichuan Province in central China.

From Talkwalker to Amazon: Creativity and content maintenance are key

This is exactly where my lecture at the Goethe Language Learning Center in Chongqing comes in: University graduates convey that career networks such as Xing or LinkedIn can open doors to the marketing departments of large companies and that it is worth setting up a blog with high-quality content. However, regular content maintenance is just as essential as an active readership, which should be kept up to date through targeted postings on social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

During my presentation, I wanted to use my application to the Luxembourg monitoring service provider Talkwalker to show the possibilities of “personal branding” as soon as you have an active blog yourself. A reference to Christine Dingler, who, thanks to a perfectly executed social media campaign in spring 2013, had numerous serious invitations to job interviews in her pocket within a very short space of time, was also a must here.

Conclusion

I had suspected that many students would be interested in the topic of “looking for a job in Germany”. The huge turnout at my lecture at the Goethe Language Learning Center was a bit of a surprise for me. According to project manager Lena Ohr, most course participants usually only go to Germany to study for a few years and usually have no ambition to stay there long-term.

Whether Philippe Dubost or Florian Blaschke, there are many examples of successful personal branding. Anyone who wants to use social media to look for a job needs an active readership, courage, and creativity.