Think of social networking profiles as personal brands. Much like a CV is carefully put together as the best representation of oneself, so too should a social media presence.
With every update, comment or photo there is an opportunity to market yourself and unfortunately there is a risk of representing yourself in a less favourable light. We, as recruiters, understand that social media is by its very nature, social and therefore are not wanting to critique every image of a party or a “night out”.
Profiles should be sincere with a true reflection of yourself and there are definitely topics to stay away from.
Social Media Don’ts:
- Stay away from using profanity and racist remarks.
- Be active, but be aware of how active… recruiters may look at how frequent you are on social media during working hours.
- Be aware of what you share, could it be offensive or negative to recruiters?
- Sometimes, you can share too much. Is it necessary to share every detail of your personal and work life? Remember to consider confidentiality.
- Check your post or update before you publish it, if it is full of grammar and spelling errors that may not paint a good image of your attention to detail and written skills.
- Don’t send out requests for birthdays, game invitations or any timewasters on the platform. Social media is not a space to annoy other users and it is vital that you keep these notifications, requests or automatic access to a minimum or not at all! After all it is not professional.
- Don’t be needy by directly asking followers to re-share or re-tweet your updates, give them the opportunity to make those decisions for themselves.
- Don’t WRITE IN ALL CAPS as they are quite visually abrupt and people tend to get the impression that you are upset about something.
- Don’t share the same message or post over and over again.
Social Media Do’s
- If you have included your work experience, make sure your profile contains correct job descriptions and that past company information is accurate. Also, don’t fabricate and exaggerate work experience or past job titles. Be sure to utilise the profile information as a way to represent your personal brand. Include work experience and personal interest as quite often companies are looking for well-rounded individuals who will fit into their company ethos. LinkedIn as a professional social media profile should be focused heavily on work experience and have a strong business message. On Facebook, there might be a stronger element of personal interests and hobbies.
- Be sure that the conversations you are a part of, the posts you comment on and the way you comment are all of a professional and clean manner and resonate with you in a positive manner.
- Be sure to read your posts or comments before pushing “update,” or “publish” and ensure that you are not utilising language that can be found offensive or seen as unprofessional, and lastly do not utilise these platforms as a way to vent during times of frustration or anger. Remember that everything that is published on the internet, is there to stay so be cautious about your words.
- Pictures speak a thousand words… Having control over what is shared onto your timeline; what pictures or videos you are tagged in and even what status update you are mentioned in is important to your professional profile. Remember to filter the things that others are posting on your social networking profiles as these can have a negative impact when it comes to your professional appearance as unfortunate instances can most certainly decrease the credibility and professionalism of your profile, especially if you are currently working for a company that disagrees with something they see.
It is important that potential job applicants are aware that recruiters and companies are looking at social media profiles as a means to determine strength of character, honesty and professionalism.
Should you require any assistance with regards to job applications within the Supply Chain, Logistics or Travel industry, be sure to contact Lee Botti & Associates, the Recruitment Specialists.
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