5 Ways to Utilize WeChat to Boost Your Career Prospects

Today in China, WeChat is the most popular social platform. For most Chinese people, WeChat plays the role of both a communication and an entertainment tool. However, for those who ambitious to boost their career prospects, WeChat can be more: a self-learning, friend-sourcing and maintenance tool, and a huge information bank. For China’s WeChat generation, it has been a game-changer.

Here are 5 tips for wisely making full use of WeChat, especially for those dissatisfied with the status quo, and refusing to be confined by outdated limits.

China’s New Name Card

Just as LinkedIn is for the English-speaking market, thanks to the networking of personal information, WeChat and many other social media accounts are now an alternative business card for most of China’s working professionals. As such, most Chinese seek to maintain a strong social profile on their account, and one that leaves a positive impression with your WeChat friends, thanks to useful information and pictures; the curation of meaningful links; and the use of an attractive portrait: all of which can make yourself more valuable to your friends, managers, clients – and yes, to recruiters.

Are You on the List?

The WeChat contact list is one of the most precious resources for your career prospects. Try to maintaining this valuable friend-sourcing channel, by greeting people regularly; exchanging professional information; and sharing relevant industry trends and observations. Eventually if the discussion is valuable, seek to move your professional discussion offline. Put simply, seeking to make your interactions lively and active instead of being just as cold number, will speak volumes about your personality. Long term, you’ll be surprised how valuable this can be for your profile and career exposure.

Cut Through the Noise

According to recent statistics, the number of WeChat Official Accounts now is more than 10 million – a figure that represents a mixed bag of good and bad accounts. You have to be sharp-sighted to know the difference: make it your practice to follow those Official Accounts that are valuable to you: to gain and collect useful industry information for career growth. As a hygiene exercise, you’ll also need to remove valueless accounts that just to waste your time. Some Official Accounts focusing on recruitment are worth your following: these can prove beneficial, particularly when you’re eyeing a job change.

The Game is in the Groups

WeChat Groups are one of the social platform’s most important functions. Try getting into some valuable WeChat Groups, within or outside your industry: to get acquainted with the industry elites and thought leaders; expand your friend-sourcing; gain valuable industry data; as well as taking part in relevant online or offline seminars – each of which can prove helpful to your professional growth. Within many of these groups, members will post recruitment announcements too – keep an eye on these: your next opportunity could be hidden inside.

Making it Official

Nowadays, more and more Chinese professionals seek to run their own Official Accounts to share ideas and observations – or just to write and create for the fun of it. If you have extra energy and a lively spirit outside of work-time, why not try? Writing and creating are a good way to practicing your expressive abilities, as well as demonstrate your research skills; demonstrate sharp observation skills and independent thinking – all essential soft-skills for in-demand talent. Do it enough, and you might just unleash some long-buried writing or artistic talent. Either way, in whatever you do on WeChat, have fun, stay safe – and enjoy the range of shared ideas and perspectives unleashed each second across the platform.

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