How to Enhance Your Social Media Profiles for a Job Search
5:36 PM
Searching
for a job just isn’t what it used to be. Until a few years ago, all a job
search involved was handing a CV or application form into the place you were
applying to. The jobs market then began to centre on online applications,
and this trend has continued up to the present day. The influence of social
media on job applications has increased dramatically during this period, too.
While
several social media websites, including LinkedIn and enthuse.me, are geared
towards providing a platform for jobseekers to show off their skills and make
themselves attractive to potential employers, others, such as Facebook and
Twitter, can be equally as crucial to a job search, for a variety of reasons.
Here are a
number of tips for enhancing your social profiles prior to starting your job
search, all of which will make you more attractive to potential employers, and
are relevant to any social profiles you may have.
Take Out
the Bad Stuff
Do a few
photographs or tweets give an accurate picture of the person you
are? Probably not, but the reality is that anyone looking at your profiles
and seeing you falling out of a club is likely to take that as a summary of who
you are. Fair? No, but it’s a game you have to play if you want the
job.
This is
better than just making all your profiles private, too, as people will adopt a
“what are they trying to hide” approach, and you’ll have the same negative
result.
With that
dealt with, we can start to focus on the positives.
Your
Profile Picture
This needs
to be professional, clear, and friendly looking. Avoid anything that
resembles a driving licence or a passport photo; you want to look fresh and
ready to work, not drained and poorly!
Complete
Everything
This is
critical if you’re using a professional network and need to display an accurate
job history or overview of your skills, as many employers will check that it
actually matches with what you’ve sent them. Don’t underestimate the power
of a witty Twitter bio, for example, either, as that can demonstrate your wit
and nature brilliantly.
Join and
Manage Your Groups
If you
didn’t do so when taking out the bad stuff, now is the time to look at the
Facebook pages you’ve liked and unlike some of them.
However, the
biggest enhancing factor here is going to be the types of group you’re a part
of on LinkedIn and other professional networks. Not only can you
demonstrate your knowledge and influence, you might even have the opportunity
to reach out directly to potential employers.
One final
point while we’re looking specifically at LinkedIn: be careful who you’ve
recommended and what you’ve written about them, you don’t want your profile to
look like you’re recommending people just to get a recommendation back!
Be
Professional Yet Personal
This might
surprise you, but you don’t need to be all about ‘work’ to appeal to
employers. In fact, most of them want to see that you do have a life, and
aren’t obsessed only with your job; recruiters want humans and friendly faces,
not robots, remember.
As long as
you’re keeping it clean, mix personal and professional stuff as much as you
want. Just avoid posting pictures of dinner or tonight’s glass of red wine
too regularly!
Enhance
Your Profiles
A thoughtful
and professional collection of social media profiles can work wonders for your
job search. Ensure yours are working as hard as they should be on your
behalf, and employers will ensure your application is always the one they look
for in their inbox.
Author Bio: Cristen Bagley is a social media expert who has recently discovered how to utilize a professional online profile at Enthuse, and is currently in the process of sharing this exciting new platform with his clients and personal connections.
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