In recent years, the importance of maintaining a positive online reputation has been at the forefront of young adults’ minds as they make their way through school and pursue lifelong careers. According to a 2017 CareerBuilder study, 70% of recruiters looked at social media when screening a candidate before hiring them. The solution isn’t to simply stop using social media, though—hiring managers sometimes find it even more concerning when you have no online footprint. So, with all of this in mind, how can you ensure that your social media pages are an accurate representation of yourself? Further, how can you use your social media presence as a means of networking, obtaining jobs, and showcasing your skills and personality? Keep reading to find out.
Clean up your content: Delete old, embarrassing, and defaming pictures
First and foremost, you should take a look at each of your social media pages and ensure that they all feature “clean material.” If that means deleting those embarrassing photos from a dorm party your freshman year of college or a potentially-controversial video, then you should do so. Remember the age-old saying: if you wouldn’t want your grandmother to see it, you probably shouldn’t post it online.
Watch what you say
This shouldn’t be news to anyone, but a Google search will prove that hundreds, if not thousands of people have been fired from their jobs over a single Tweet or Facebook post. It’s as simple as watching what you say when it comes to politics, race, culture, and sensitive subjects overall. You are free to have opinions, of course, but remember that a company may be less inclined to accept you into a position if you are strongly opinionated online.
List your current job, past experience, and skill sets in your biographies
Once you’ve purged your profiles of unwanted content, you should be sure to utilize the descriptions on each page to highlight your skills, experience, and current employment, especially on professional social networks like LinkedIn. Be careful when listing your career aspirations on your profiles, though—you may limit your options by telling recruiters that you are only interested in a specific field or occupation. By simply listing your current activities, the skills you would bring to a job, and your past achievements, you show recruiters that you are interested and open to a wide variety of opportunities.
Connect with potential employers and recruiters
Your profiles might be easily accessible to recruiters, but that doesn’t mean your networking efforts are complete. You can go one step further by connecting with, following, or liking the pages of companies and their respective recruiters to show interest. Not only will you be on their radar by connecting with them, but you will also be able to keep up with company updates and developments, which might prove helpful if you secure an interview with them.
We would love to connect with you on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter! Once your pages are ready to go, visit our website for more information about our open positions in all nine of our offices.
