Follow these 10 simple ways to get your social media employer-friendly, and the next words you could be hearing are ‘you’re hired!’.
1. Turn on your timeline review
As much as you love your friends, they could be the cause of your biggest nightmare if they tag you in questionable photos that you didn’t really want online.
This is why ‘timeline review’ is a really handy way to make sure that
nothing makes its way onto your page, without you knowing.
To turn it on, go onto your Facebook settings. Click the ‘Timeline and tagging’ option. Then, switch the ‘Review posts friends tag you in before they appear on timeline’ field to ‘on’.
And
voila! Now, every time someone tags you in a photo, you will have to accept it before it appears on your timeline.
Questionable photos on your timeline could end up hurting your chances of being hired because they don’t give off a professional impression to potential employers. When employers check your social pages, it is normally to ensure that they are hiring the right person.
But if they come across a photo of you sleeping in a ditch after a heavy night, they may question whether you are the right fit.
2. Be careful what you post
Before posting
anything on social media, take a moment to think about whether what you are saying could be offensive, sexual, discriminatory or illegal. If it is,
don’t post it.
The second you’ve posted something in the public domain, it’s there forever. Even if you’ve posted ephemeral content in a Story or on Snapchat, chances are that someone will have screenshotted it.
Employers can be put off by offensive posts, and this could put any potential job into question.
3. Choose the right profile picture
When choosing a profile picture, you need to decide what kind of message you want to portray.
Since your profile picture is the social media equivalent of a first impression, you want to put your best self forward.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that it needs to be a professional photo, but maybe you should rethink making it one of your ‘merry’ nights with the girls at Beefcakes …
4. Add your current workplace
Adding your current workplace into your bio or onto the page with your information is a useful way to show employers your list of current and past workplaces. As an added bonus, it’s also an extra way to showcase your skills and experience.
This will just give any future employers looking at your pages an idea of where you are currently working and what kind of job you do. It will also help them get an idea of whether you are a good fit for their company or not.
This information will also be on your CV, but it's always good to remind employers about the experience you do have.
5. Post and share posts about your industry
By posting and sharing information about the industry you work in, you’ll show potential employers that you are full of enthusiasm and passion for your industry. This is always a quality employers find attractive when they look at your social feeds.
It will also assure employers that you
will work hard because of the dedication, interest and pride that you have for your particular industry. Plus, it won’t hurt to show off the fact that you spend your down-time keeping up to date with the latest news and trends.
6. Post your achievements
If you have been nominated for an award, just finished a course or wrapped up a demanding project that went off without a hitch — post about it!
Do a little bragging just to fully highlight how awesome you are. This is also a sneaky way to say to potential employers ‘Look at what I can do, so please hire me.’
When posting about your achievements, be careful to not come across as arrogant. Remember: there is a fine line between pride and arrogance.
7. Make your English teacher proud
Always check your spelling and grammar!Because your social media page is pretty much the first impression your employers will have of you, you need your page to be error-free.
Something that can bring that all down is bad grammar and spelling. If you have not taken the time to double-check the spelling on your social media posts, employers may think you have that same level of carelessness when you work.
Another
big no-no is using SMS language on social media. It gives the impression of unprofessionalism, and that is definitely not the impression you want to give to a potential employer!
No one uses SMS language anymore anyway, so let’s just banish it back to the early 2000s where it belongs (it will not BRB).
8. Find a balance between work and fun posts
Just because future employers may snoop onto your social media pages doesn’t mean that you should stop posting fun pictures and memes. You just need to find a balance.
If you
only post work photos, it will look like you don’t have a life outside of work. But on the opposite end, if you
only post fun pictures and memes, employers may question whether you ever actually work.
Balance is the key.
Also, keep in mind that many companies are looking for employees that are passionate and have a sense of humour, so all work and no play will certainly make you look dull.
9. Check your privacy settings
If all of this seems like too much effort, and you’d rather not have anyone other than your friends looking at your pages, change your privacy settings.
This will ensure that you can control who is able to view your full profile by deciding whose requests you accept.
But even if your social pages are set to ‘private’, don’t be lured into a false sense of security. Your profile pictures will
still be available for
anyone to view.
One downside to setting all your pages to ‘private’ is that employers won’t be able to get a glimpse into who you are on social media — and that might give another candidate an advantage over you.
10. Google yourself
Type your name into Google and you will be able to see exactly what your future employers will see when they Google you. If you don’t like what you see, make changes until you are satisfied!
Need some ideas for the best way to manage your social pages? Try this:
Use Instagram as your personal blog, and make Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn your personal marketers.
If you set your Instagram account to ‘private’, and if you are careful whose requests you accept, you can have an unfiltered page.
If you choose to do this, you should make your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn profiles a little more accessible so that potential employers have at least one or two social media platforms to look at.
In this case, keep those pages a little more filtered and ensure the content on those pages are all things you would be comfortable discussing with your future employer.
What strategy do you use to ensure your social pages are employer-friendly? Let us know in the comments section below.
Writing great engagement-generating posts on social media is no easy feat. Check out these Five rules for writing engaging social media posts to get your social media pages buzzing!