Applying for Jobs? Clean Up Your Online Reputation

These days, just about everyone uses social media, but it’s not all fun and games. Hiring managers scour social networking sites to learn more about candidates — and they’re going far beyond the confines of LinkedIn.

An overwhelming 52% of employers use social media to research job candidates, according to a 2015 CareerBuilder survey. Of these employers, 60% are searching for information proving you’re qualified for the job, 56% want to gauge your online reputation, 37% hope to find out what others are posting about you and 21% are actually searching for reasons you’re not the right fit for the job.

Consequently, an online persona portraying you as anything other than a mature, responsible professional could be detrimental to your career. If posting vacation photos of you at the beach and engaging in Twitter wars is your normal, it’s time for a social media makeover.

How to Clean Up Your Social Media Presence

Use three tips to audit your social media pages before applying to any jobs.

1. Enable Privacy Settings. It’s a great way to make connections with people across the globe, but all your social media profiles don’t need to be in the public eye. Decide which ones you’d like to share with the world and place privacy settings on the others, to keep the content shared on lockdown. Basically, any platform you want to post a great deal of personal information on should be kept under wraps.
2. Remove Inappropriate Posts. Now that you’ve decided which of your profiles will be available for public viewing, it’s time to transform them into something that won’t hinder your job search. Remove all explicit content, anything using foul language or poor grammar, posts displaying your political or religious preferences and anything else that wouldn’t impress your future boss.
3. Share Industry-Relevant Content. Since you won’t be sharing too much of a personal nature on your public pages, use the space to display a passion for your work. Follow industry leaders and regularly post content relevant to your field, to show hiring managers your true interest in subject matter. As an added bonus, all of this social media activity will certainly help you make connections that can be very beneficial in your job search.

Finding a new job is hard work, so let the experts at PrideStaff Northern Kentucky guide your search. Our team has deep connections with some of the top employers in the tri-county region, allowing us to help you secure the right temporary, temp-to-hire or direct hire opportunity. Contact us today to make a plan for your future!