Your social media presence provides employers with an insight of who you are. Your image is displayed on social media to employers, therefore, it is important to protect your image to attract employers.
Employers can gather some valuable information through looking at candidate’s social media profiles. Research suggests that employers frequently check social media profiles, with the potential of gathering influential information.
There are certain posts and behaviours that should not be displayed upon your social media profile, to avoid negative attitudes from employers, such as:
• Post racist remarks
• Use improper spelling
• False career information
• Displaying illegal actions
• Excessive social media use
• Unprofessional photo
• Nude photos
• Use offensive language
• Post alcohol or drugs
• Post political views
• Post negative opinions on your job
• Post negatively about colleagues
• Include an animal in your photo
• Display bullying
• Inappropriate clothing attire
• Display drama in personal life
Creating professional social media profiles, allows yourself to be portrayed as confident, knowledgeable and professional. Professional profiles enables greater ways to communicate with employers adding depth and range to your social media presence.
If you are looking for employment, a LinkedIn profile is essential. LinkedIn enables an opportunity to express your experience vastly, rather than limited within a CV. LinkedIn provides an opportunity to display a professional photo in the form of the profile picture, allows employers to engage with your appearance. Through personalising your LinkedIn profile you can make it unique, yet still display professionalism. This will attract employers, as they can gather more information on your personality.
Creating a Twitter profile ensures that you can streamline a large amount of relevant information in your area of expertise, dependent on who you follow. This enables you to express your opinions on business-related areas, portraying your interest and capabilities to employers. Similarly to LinkedIn, there is a vast opportunity to develop a network with potential employers.
Creating a Facebook profile provides you with a platform to express your talent. This may be through posting completed documents or projects, displaying creativity. A Facebook profile also enables the opportunity to join groups that share similar interest to you, which may be business/profession-related. Through interactions within these groups, you can develop relevant ideas for your profession. Employers will be able to see what groups you are currently in, allowing employers to understand your areas of interest, providing a positive image to the employer.
Do not worry about having perfect social media profiles for employers to view, however, just be aware that potential employers may view your profile at any time. Due to this, just ensure your profiles are fairly professional and avoid anything that may deter employers from approaching you. You never know when an employer may be lurking on your profile.
