Tips for Polishing Your Social Media Online Presence Before Connecting With Job Recruiters

As early as 2006, ExecuNet observed that 77% of the recruiters google or research applicants online, and 35% admitted that they eliminated a candidate from the potential employee list based on what they find about the candidate online. If you think deleting your online personal can save you from embarrassing yourself in front of your potential recruiters, you are wrong.

Before, the CareerBuilder survey revealed that 35% of the employers said that they are less likely to interview a candidate they cannot find online. Researching candidates on social media and other online networks has become an essential part of the online recruitment process. Hiring managers and dedicated development teams in the IT sector were most active online (76%), followed by Financial Services (64%) and Sales (61%) – when it came to screening candidates.

It means that you need to have a well-crafted online personal to win over potential recruiters looking for you.

Social Media Content That Turns Off Employers

Negative information about you online can hurt your job prospects. Employers may prefer to steer clear of you if they find that you have:

  • photos that show you drinking or using drugs, which indicate that you may be a substance abuser
  • politically incorrect comments, which border on gender, racial or religious discrimination
  • poor communication skills, indicated by the bad grammar you use in your FB posts, tweets, or blogs
  • posts or tweets where candidates have bad-mouthed previous company, boss or colleagues
  • provocative or inappropriate photographs made public on Facebook or Instagram (or other social media platforms)

Alisha, who has been offering online assignment help to college students for the last several years, shared, “Recently, more and more people have been approaching me to craft or polish their online persona in such a way that they look appealing to the recruiters looking for them or people like them.

They want me to improve the grammar and sentence structure of their posts and add posts to various social media platforms on which they are present to showcase that they are creative, professional, well-qualified, and good for the company culture. They want me to create their digital alter-egos to win over recruiters for them.”

Your Online Story Should Be In Sync With Your CV

A hiring manager with your CV in his hand would want to see that your online profile confirms the information you’ve shared on your CV. They might check out the key facts or dates you have shared, and the professional network you have online.

A political journo who does not have a lot of politicians in his contacts list or a sales manager who does not have endorsements or recommendations on your LinkedIn profile may raise red flags in the recruiters’ head. Such a disconnect between your CV and your online profiles will not only damage your professional image but may also label you as ‘untrustworthy’ and ‘dishonest’.

It is advisable to use the CV template as a guide and to treat LinkedIn as your extended CV. It is a good idea to include a shortened LinkedIn profile URL in your CV too. Your URL should have a username that is short and easy to remember.

All the other social media accounts, such as Facebook and Twitter, must pass the eye test. It means that they should look good. You should also be active on them to project the image of being a dynamic person. While FB profile cannot be included in your CV, you may add a link to a Facebook page if it is well-designed and well-maintained.

Check Your Timeline And Privacy Settings

A long-standing social media account may have several things you may not want your recruiters to see. Delete the posts that interfere with the online image you are trying to craft permanently – especially on Twitter. Hiding these posts doesn’t mean that others will not be able to quote you – and your posts can escape the eyes of the hiring managers.

You can start by searching your name on Google and then go on to examine yourself on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Google+, and Instagram. If you have ever posted YouTube videos, search yourself on YouTube too.

To see how your recruiters will see you, it is advisable to log out of your social media accounts and perform the search using some other ID.

For all other social media platforms, check your privacy settings and make sure that all the personal posts should only be visible to those whom you know personally. The posts and photos you make public should be the ones that support your efforts to create an excellent online brand.

In Conclusion

Recruiting and job application campaigns have become a true art for small and large companies alike. In a world driven by social media and instant access to information, hiring the best people for the job sounds easy enough to achieve. That’s why it’s important to have solid online personal to persuade potential recruiters looking for you.

Rahul Gupta

Rahul functions as the head of the company’s Research & Insights division. A seasoned Digital Marketing Expert with more than 10 years in Organic Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Business Development, Lead Generation, Management, Customer Acquisition, building diverse portfolios of websites, growing online presence for many tech brands and others.

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