Paul KeijzerOnce upon a time there used to be a discussion around the topic of whether social media profiles would replace the traditional CV. And though most companies still ask for some form of a resume – whether one uploaded by the applicant or created through a job portal, your social profiles say a lot about you
You must never ever forget that anything online is not private – if it exists in the cloud there’s always a chance someone important will see it. There are some basic tips such as:
- Use your real name,
- Have a “real email address”,
- Have a respectable profile image, and
- Include contact information,
which apply across all social networks. Follow these and the specific action tips below and you’ll be able to attract recruiters with a healthy combination of personal and business information.
Most likely this was first social profile which probably has a ton of things you wouldn’t want your boss or your mother to see. Should you go back and erase all the incriminating evidence? Of course not – that would be a waste of anyone’s time. But think about the now. What kind of profile picture do you have? What about your cover image? Does it largely show you as a party animal? Or maybe you’ve put your religious views up there? Perhaps you’ve committed a cardinal sin – leaving it blank.
Facebook’s a tricky beast for balancing a personal outlook with business. Most people use their profiles for fun and family, which is fair. But whatever you do
Action Point 1: Don’t alienate a recruiter with excessive immaturity, political/religious views or negativity.
Now or 10 years down the line. Stick to who you are – don’t ever change that. But you don’t have to advertise every single element of your personal life.
I’m guessing a number of you either have a twitter account and don’t use it or don’t have one at all. If that’s you, you most likely think that there’s not much to be said in 140 characters. However, the world in general does believe that there is serious value to micro blogging. If you don’t have presence…it’s okay. The world won’t end.
But if you do, and you’re active – think about the same things I mentioned above in the picture above for Facebook. And then think about who you’re following and the kind of conversations you’re having. When it comes to recruiters, keep in mind to:
Action Item 2: Grow your professional network so that recruiters know you’re serious about your business.
The easiest way of doing this is to set a up a list of social influencers in your industry and try to interact with them once every week at least.
Now this is one network you better have a presence on if you want to grow your career. If you don’t have the time to regularly participate in group conversations on LinkedIn, that’s okay. But you must maintain a current profile including details on your latest company and projects that you worked on. It’s the first place recruiters look at when it comes to checking backgrounds and finding out more about candidates.
When working on your LinkedIn profile, the number one rule is:
Action Item 3: Do not exaggerate or lie on your social profile – be who you really are.
Of course this applies to your CV and online profiles – be completely honest and you’ll never have to worry about a disconnect between the two which so many people accidentally create.
You must admit that these tips are pretty easy to implement no matter how squeezed you are for time. I can’t stress the importance of having healthy social profiles for your career. It really is no longer about trying to keep your CV down to 1 or 2 pages. It’s about advertising your worth to potential employers now or in the future.
Photo Credit: flazingo_photos via Compfight cc
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