A recent survey by CareerBuilder found the number of employers screening potential candidates’ social media profiles prior to offering an interview jumped 10% to 70% since last year…

Not only that, employers are using search engines as well to research applicants’ backgrounds and digital presence. In fact, if employers can’t find you online at all, you may be significantly less likely to even be considered for a job role. The same research also found that 37% of employers check to see what others are saying about candidates online. In contrast, research by ExecuNet showed that only 33% of candidates performed a search on themselves online to see what employers would see about them. Taking the time to do a quick self-audit on yourself could be the difference between getting through to the first stage or not.

With the impact of your online presence so significant in its ability to influence your career success, we’re taking a look at what can be done to ensure that a) you are found online and b) you’re optimising your online presence for career success.

Dos and Don’ts of what to publish about yourself online

 

Do

  • Try to use a professional portrait image for your profiles
  • Ensure your avatar and handles are professional Make sure your CV details are in line with your online profile details
  • Let your personal character shine through
  • Check, and triple check, all spelling and grammar in profiles and posts
  • Highlight membership to relevant clubs and bodies
  • Follow prospective employer organisations and interact with their social channels
  • Publish your awards and commendations
  • Show active engagement in relevant groups and communities
  • Ensure your LinkedIn profile is 100% complete
  • Publish recommendations on your LinkedIn profile
  • Show you’ve done some charity or CSR work
  • Ensure you come across as friendly and professional
  • Demonstrate an active interest in lots of activities

 

Don’t

  • Make it sound as though you’re a party animal
  • Make reference to illegal substances
  • Make reference to criminal activity
  • Be rude to contacts
  • Have mismatching information from channel to channel
  • Display inappropriate images of any kind
  • Have an unprofessional avatar or handle
  • Leave your spelling and grammar unchecked
  • Come across as being a complainer or overly negative
  • Be aggressive or over assertive in your opinions
  • Forget not everyone will have the same political opinion as you
  • Be rude about previous jobs or employers

 

It goes without saying that posting online about drink or drug fuelled parties you went to at the weekend is not going to do you any favours in the career camp, but even something as innocuous as poor spelling and grammar can be in instant turn off for prospective employers. Taking the time to review and fix your online presence, update your online CV, delete out of date profiles, engage in industry-relevant conversations on LinkedIn, contribute articles and blogs to show you are actively interested and engaged in your field are all ways to make yourself shine online to future employers in a highly competitive marketplace.

At the end of the day, besides your skillset, the key thing that employers are researching about you is whether or not your personality will match their organisational culture. Social media is the perfect place to demonstrate this, so take the opportunity to utilise all relevant channels to let your personality really shine through.  If you are active in sport, charity events, clubs, groups or are the country’s youngest person to climb Everest or the fastest person on roller skates for example – this is just the type of information employers need to assess your fit, it’ll benefit you as well in that you spend so many hours of your life working that it is essential you surround yourself with like-minded individuals to maximise your own success.

 

If social media has played a big part in your career success, we’d love to hear your story over on our Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ pages.