While social media can be an excellent way of promoting your
individual brand and add a personal context to your CV, it also has the
potential to significantly damage
your online reputation and may hinder you in your search for your next role. There is
no way of knowing what the long term implications of posting content online will
be, a status or photo that may seem harmless at the time may discourage a
future employer from taking you seriously, or considering you for the position
at all.
Protect your online reputation
According to research conducted by cyber security experts Norton,
millennials need to be more conscious about their digital footprint. More than
a quarter of 18-34 year olds have no idea what appears when their name is
searched online, and perhaps more worryingly 48% of hiring managers indicated
that they chose not to take on an applicant after discovering something on
their social platforms. Moreover social media is a standard used by recruiters
to help them select appropriate candidates for interview. So how can you manage
your online reputation, and ensure that it bolsters your CV, rather than
hinders your job prospects?
Start by googling yourself. This is the first step that any
recruiter or potential employer will take, so it’s important that you know what
they’re likely to find. As the number of social media profiles we have steadily
increases, so too does the amount of information potential employers are able
to find out. So it’s important to check your privacy settings. While you may
want to have more professional platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter open to
the public, it’s unlikely that you’ll want employers to be able to trawl
through your personal photos on Facebook or Instagram.
What would a
potential employer think?
It’s also worth considering the type of content you are
posting on your profiles and the impression this might give to a future
employer. It’s definitely not advisable to post potentially embarrassing photos
on any of your public profiles, or to ignore unprofessional ones you might have
been tagged in. In addition it’s worth bearing in mind how a rant about how
awful your day at work has been might look to someone thinking about hiring
you. Impulsive updates are also not a good idea – take Donald Trump for
example, who has launched countless Twitter rants
and now faces a serious backlash which is likely to hurt his campaign for the
most powerful job in the world.
Social media can be great at demonstrating your personality,
however in terms of advancing your career it’s important that you find the
right balance between personal and professional updates. You might want to
tweet pictures of the salad you had for lunch, but you might want to counter
that with a link to a recent blog you have written, or write about a
professional development course you went on recently. For every five updates
you post, it’s recommended that at least one is directly related to your career
or personal development, that way an employer only has to scroll through your
most recent updates to know you are hardworking and committed to your role.
Finally, make a note of who you are regularly engaging with
on Twitter, if you are retweeting or sharing friends’ updates it’s vital that
you consider how these might reflect on you. Try to engage with industry
professionals or get involved with live chats to show that you are actively
engaging with relevant sector conversations.
Don’t let your
reputation be tarnished through social media
Social media can be great for interacting with friends,
however it can also be a professional minefield so ensure you always remain
conscious about how a potential employer may view your online profile, and make
sure your profiles and privacy settings are all in order before beginning to
search for a new role.
For more tips from the Clayton Recruitment team click here.
And if you’re looking for your next role we should be talking. Get in touch today or take a look
at our vacancies here.
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