One task that many job seekers overlook when preparing for interviews is polishing their social media profiles. For many companies, however, the way you present yourself online is just as important as the way you portray yourself in person. Here are eight tips to help you clean up your social media presence.
1. Review Your Posts
Social media posts that are offensive, rude or inflammatory can be a huge turn-off for employers. Poor spelling and grammatical errors can also make you less desirable as a candidate. Take a good, hard look at all your recent postings and delete anything that could be held against you or misinterpreted. Review the content of pages you like, follow or share, too, as these things also represent your interests.
2. Delete Questionable Photos
Run through all photos on each of your social media profiles and get rid of anything that shows you in a poor light. Smiling pictures with family, friends, and pets are great; party pics of you next to a beer keg or performing a stupid stunt are not.
3. Review Tag Settings
Even if you post only crystal-clean images and content to your social media profiles, your online presence is still vulnerable to unsolicited tags from friends and others. Luckily, Facebook allows you to remove yourself from tags in any photos or posts you don't want on your profile. To further protect your reputation, ask the person who posted the offending item to remove the image or post.
4. Select a Professional Profile Picture
If you have a professional headshot or similar image, use it as your profile picture. This goes for any social media account, whether LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
5. Don't Complain About Work Online
If you've ever vented about work on any of your social media accounts, review these posts carefully. Employers can be wary of hiring someone who talks about work online, so try to refrain from anything but the most general and inoffensive comments.
6. Update Your Facebook Profile Information
If you've been on Facebook since its inception, it may be time to update your information. Review your home page and update each section, including your "About Me" and "Favorite Quotes," with up-to-date answers that give an accurate picture of who you are and what you're like today.
7. Update Your LinkedIn Profile
Many younger job seekers neglect their LinkedIn profiles, but LinkedIn is often the chosen social media network for employers scouting for talent. Take the time to upload a new, professional-looking photo, update your resume and complete any pending connections on this network.
8. Review Your Twitter Feed
Twitter is not as relevant to employers as Facebook and LinkedIn. However, this doesn't mean you have free license to tweet anything that comes to mind. You want your Twitter feed to contain interesting, thought-provoking posts that an employer would expect from a professional, intelligent candidate. Repost articles relevant to your industry, ask compelling questions and follow companies in your field.
Although not every company checks a candidate's social media profile as part of the hiring process, it is still advisable to make sure your online presence depicts you in the best light. Otherwise, they might undo the level of professionalism you worked so hard to establish in your resume and cover letter.
Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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