It's neither uncommon nor inappropriate to inquire about potential work via social media.

 

Using social media to look for a job is now a norm, and rightfully so: who wouldn't want to tap into the massive potential of connecting with business leads in as personal yet efficient a manner as possible?

 

But here's one piece of information I'm not readily finding in articles about finding work via social media: The appropriate amount of time to wait before inquiring with a business via social media a second time. 

 

A job-seeker recently sent a private message to a Facebook page I manage, with a nice pitch and a request for a director to respond. So I forwarded the information on to the appropriate person.

 

The next day, the same person messaged the page again, only this time, it was to point out that despite the first message and numerous phone calls (all made less than 24 hours before), no one had responded yet. 

 

Well, hello there, Mr. Obtrusive. Not at all nice to hear from you again. 

 

It is correct to expect quick responses when you reach out to a company via social media...

 

...if you're a customer.

 

It is justifiable to complain about said business if it doesn't respond in a timely manner to your query via social media...

 

...if you're a customer. 

 

But if you're someone looking for work, I personally believe the rules of urgency that apply to online social communications with customers DO NOT also apply to you. 

 

Rather, the same rules of patience recommended when following up on a job application or interview should absolutely also pertain to social media overtures about possible employment.

 

So, the next time you click "post" or "tweet" on a job inquiry, no automatic license to express annoying aggression will be issued by the interwebs.

 

An automatic urge for the potential employer to click "delete," however? That's almost a guarantee.