Social Media and your Job Search: Do's and Don'ts

Social media has been trending for years. With new and improved social media outlets you are able to stay connected all the time. However, social media does have it’s evils and can affect your job search. Here are some social media do’s and don’ts for your job search:

Create and maintain social media profiles to expand and grow your network. Create a LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook profile. Presently, you can do a job search on any of those outlets and potentially find jobs.
Take the time to join groups that pertain to your industry. Like or follow companies in your industry. This will help you expand and grow your network. Potentially connecting you to your next job opportunity. And stay updated and current on your profiles with your information.
Google yourself. Search yourself and try to find out what is out there on you. You want to try and keep your privacy settings on the social media sites on high. There is a lot of sharing that happens and if you don’t want it in the hands of your potential employer then reassess your privacy settings.

Don’ts

Post opinions that will reflect poorly on you. The staffing specialist or potential employer can do a quick Google search on you. With a click of button they may be able to see these things and deem you unworthy of the job. Be meticulous of your postings.
Post an inappropriate profile photo of yourself. Keep it classy – get a nice clean cut picture of yourself. Also don’t post pictures of your pets as your profile picture either. Even though your social media site may not have anything to do with your job search. You can be searched and it may come up – be smart and keep it professional.
Forget their are other social media outlets. By now there at thousands of outlets that can be explored. Don’t limit yourself to just the popular ones. There could be outlets that have been created specifically for your industry. Take the time to explore them.

Social media has it’s pros and it also has it’s cons. Follow the do’s and don’ts and it will help with your next job search!