Social media has become a major factor for employers to decide whether you’re called in for an interview. Once they review your resume and ensure you are indeed a great match for that position, they’re searching for the real “you” online. That amount of information is useful for a recruiter/hiring manager because they can now visually see and judge who you are based on your social media outlets. This may seem like a complete disadvantage, but it’s not if you control what you share with the world.
Your first thought may be to set your social media to private or deactivate it. Instead, you should learn use it to your advantage. Your future employer wants to see something about you, so show them. LinkedIn is a great social media platform to display a more positive and career-focused presence. An effective LinkedIn profile will not only reiterate the skills you display on your resume, but you could also network, boost career development, flaunt accolades and endorsements. Similar to Facebook, you can post about your everyday life but it should be focused on business-related topics or accomplishments.
Whether your social media accounts are set to private or public, you should always be wary of the image you are presenting. You are being judged based on the pictures or posts you write. There’s nothing wrong with having fun or sharing your thoughts, but it is crucial to think before you post anything negative- especially about a current or previous employer/employees. Even though social media is usually for personal use, you should see it as an online extension of your resume or networking device. You never know when or how you will meet your next employer, but you want to ensure your resume as well as your online image projects what you’re capable of achieving.
By Kawana B., Resume Writing Consultant, Dragon Careers
