It’s never been more critical to project a robust online presence and personal brand. Why? Because recruiters are no longer solely making decisions on your CV and cover letter.
Employers are turning to social media and career building platforms online for guidance. A CareerBuilder survey found that 70% of recruiters screen social media before recruiting a candidate.
You may ask, “what does my personal life have to do with my professional abilities?” Allowing recruiters access to your online profiles gives them a glimpse of your personality outside of your resume. This them helps determine whether you’re the right candidate, as they have the opportunity to see if your values align with theirs.
However, it makes your personal life susceptible, as every post you make may be subject to scrutiny by a potential employer.
For this reason, it is best to achieve a perfect balance between personality and professionalism on all social platforms.
Read on to see how our tips can help prepare your online presence for your dream job interview!
1. Use Social Media For Your Benefit
Social media is an unrivaled way to express oneself and build a personal online brand. This is why it’s crucial to present yourself positively and professionally to establish the best image for any recruiters who check you out.
When recruiters go online, they aren’t searching for information not to hire you. They are looking for information to validate further why they should, along with evidence to support your qualifications as a candidate.
For this reason, you should display evidence of your qualifications, such as graduation certificates or links to work portfolios to validate your eligibility to employers.
Furthermore, it’s a smart move to make posts that highlight your career aspirations. You can also display recommendations from previous mentors on LinkedIn to demonstrate your passion and commitment to the industry.
In addition, you can join relevant groups to open doors and seek support from other like-minded individuals hoping to further their careers. This demonstrates your desire to build upon your current skills and enhance the success of a prospective employer’s business.
2. Erase Unprofessional Content
To utilise social media to its highest potential, it’s in your best interest to remove any unprofessional content from your online social and career building platforms.
Unprofessional content can include the following:
- Inappropriate photographs, videos, and posts (on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Linkedin)
- Discriminatory comments about race, religion, etc.
- Comments bad-mouthing previous employers, employees or work experiences
- Disclosure of confidential materials
- Posts with reference to the use of excessive alcohol or recreational drugs
- Association with criminals or demonstration of a criminal history
- Conduct which invalidates your qualifications
- Lying about an absence
If any of the above points could describe content you’ve previously posted, Removify can help. We are specialists in content removal and can erase pathways to unfavourable posts from your past to prevent employers from eliminating you as a potential candidate.
3. Complete Professional Profiles
Building a complete professional online profile will help secure your dream job interview.
A professional online profile on a platform such as LinkedIn or Facebook will include an up to date work history, references, a professional headshot and a clear URL attached to differentiate yourself from fellow job seekers.
Most importantly, it’s critical to guarantee your online profile and resume align. If your resume and profile don’t line up, it can create an element of uncertainty for an employer, which could prevent an opportunity for your dream job interview.
An incomplete application suggests you aren’t willing to put in the effort to present yourself or your work in the best possible light. This can let questions arise in an employer’s mind about whether you’d behave the same way at work!
Another way to enhance your profile’s professionality is to keep contacts strictly work-focused. This highlights your contacts within an industry, rather than a level of “popularity” you’ve maintained since high school.
Professional connections build your chances of gaining that dream job interview you’ve been hoping for, through that little activity called networking.
4. Provide Up-To-Date Contact Details
All the preparation in the world will not help if your profile does not clearly state how to contact you!
To position yourself to land the job interview you’ve always wanted, you must visibly place your contact details on relevant online platforms for recruiters’ ease of contact.
Also, it is best to make sure the email provided is professional. It should not be “childish”, and should cement your credibility to prospective employers. Yes, that means ditching your old Hotmail address!
We hope our guide on curating your online presence has given you the tools you need to land that dream job! Have you searched them on Glassdoor yet? If not, check out our blog and discover 4 Ways Glassdoor Has Changed The Recruitment Process.
