Social media helps you interact with friends, family, and strangers but did you know that it can be a tool that recruiters might use to find and validate potential candidates? Hold on! This doesn’t necessarily ruin your job search. You do not need to go offline or deactivate your profiles. In fact, not being on social media sites can even hurt your chances of being recognized and, ultimately, hired. The bottom line is to strike the right balance – cultivate a professional and amicable online presence.  

Job Search – The Dos and the Don’ts on the Social Media  

Social Media can be a medium for recruiters to scout out for potential candidates. So, if you’re on a job search, build a positive image on these platforms. 

Update Your Professional Profile  

If you’ve fired up a Twitter account to connect with professionals in your industry and follow influencers and media outlets or you finally updated your LinkedIn profile with your work history and relevant information – those are good moves. Recruiters will be excited to see that you are active on social media, but they may not be too be impressed if you aren’t updating it on a somewhat regular basis.   

Keep them Engaged  

Social networks are all about interacting, and not lurking in the corners watching others have conversations! Always try engaging with other users, even if you don’t get an immediate response from everyone. It’s a great way to show potential recruiters that you’re not only getting out there, but you’re starting conversations and interacting with industry leaders. It is highly recommended that you follow companies you’d like to work for, check out job search feeds, and even start following some recruiters.   

Building an Audience  

It is important to build an audience by engaging with other users on social media, and it’s important to show recruiters and hiring managers that you are capable of expanding your audience base. It’s not about having a zillion followers, either, because that can oftentimes be out of your control. Rather, it’s about cultivating a quality or real audience.   

Create a Positive Image  

Much of what you share online is part of building your image, whether it’s true to yourself or not. But when it comes to job search, potential recruiters might look to your social media profiles to discover who you are outside of a professional interview. A lot of top recruiters keep an eye out for a lot of partying photos, tweets about disliking their jobs, and instances of oversharing. This could reflect badly on a candidate. Yes, the job search can be tricky! 

Never be Offensive  

Never be offensive, especially on your public accounts. Top companies scout out for red flags that include gestures that might be deemed offensive, illegal stuff, profanity, and sexually explicit material. Even if you didn’t mean something to be offensive, it is important to consider that the person reading your profile might not resonate with your sense of humor or your sense of satire.  

Don’t Bash Your Current or Past Employers  

If you’ve had a rough day at work, what’s the first place you turn to vent- your social media account? Not a bright idea, if a recruiter or hiring manager notices that you’ve bashed your employer, they won’t have any reason to think you wouldn’t do the same to their company if they do hire you. So, the next time you have a long day at work, take it off the line and call up your best friend and hash it out over the phone or a cup of coffee.   

You Don’t Want to Give off Negative Vibes  

You may not want to come off as negative to recruiters and hiring managers, because it might make you seem like someone they don’t want to work with. Try to keep the content of your posts and image positive and constructive by sharing your hobbies, being considerate, and presenting yourself as a well-rounded personality. They say you should always assume employers are looking at your profiles because even if they aren’t, it’s the right mindset to have when using your social accounts.  

Bottom Line  

A study conducted by Microsoft states, “In the United States, 86% of human resources professionals surveyed stated that a positive online reputation influences the candidate’s application to some extent; around a half stated that it does so to a great extent.” A well-done LinkedIn Profile can make a great positive impression on potential employers and help accelerate your job search. But yes, people are dumb sometimes and can blow off opportunities by publishing stuff, particularly photos of themselves drinking, smoking dope, or doing something illegal. To sum it all up, a good social media profile can up your chances of getting hired!   

So, what are you waiting for, go on, and amp up your social media presence. And if you’re looking for professional recruitment assistance to improve your job search, Techruit Solutions is more than happy to help. For more such interesting write-ups, follow us on social media.