I landed my dream job by taking out a Facebook ad. 

In early 2010, I decided that marketing was what interested me, but you wouldn’t know it judging by my sales-heavy resume. I had been blogging a bit, and had built up a healthy Twitter following with no particular goal in mind. I was freelancing, selling custom blog setups and doing a bit of design work for a friend. It wasn’t paying well, but I was starting to be recognized locally for my social media efforts.

In the first week of my job search, I had an interview at a cell phone kiosk in the mall. I didn’t get a call back. The next week, I saw a post on the Bad Pitch blog about Grant Turck, who had taken out a Facebook ad, targeted PR agencies he wanted to work for, and seen great results. I sent Grant an email and set up a phone call. He gave me a few killer inside tips, and I took out my own ad. 

The ad targeted local Facebook users that were management-level and above in marketing. It featured a photo of me, the fact that I had been nominated for the TX Social Media Awards, and a link to the Hire Me page on my blog.

After a week, the phone calls, emails and blog comments started to pour in. I was talking to a hiring manager every other day, and I had spent less than $150 on the campaign. One of the calls was from Bazaarvoice, the company on the top of my list. 

Someone at Bazaarvoice saw the ad and called me up to interview for their new Social Media Manager position. Four interviews and a presentation later, I had my dream job. 

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Ian Greenleigh is the Social Media Manager at Bazaarvoice, in Austin, TX. His insights have been featured on top blogs like Social Media Explorer, Convince & Convert, and BrianSolis.com.