How To Make Your Social Media Accounts Employer-friendly

Have you ever googled yourself? If the search brings up your social media accounts, are you sure your digital profiles portray you in a positive light? Are there things that embarrass you?  According to recruitment company Reed, 80% of recruiters said they look at a candidate’s online profile at least once, with 43% saying they often look at candidates’ profiles. Don’t scupper your chances of getting the perfect graduate job by thinking your digital profile doesn’t matter. It does, which is why we’ve provided some advice to help make your social media accounts employer-friendly. Delete Potentially Offensive Posts This is fairly straightforward and involves going back through your feeds and deleting posts that others might find offensive. From overly political content, to posts spreading negative stereotypes, or anything full of profanity, you should cleanse your digital persona, whether that’s on your Twitter, Instagram or Facebook profiles. Put a stop to negative posting and think twice before clicking ‘publish’. If you use Snapchat, think whether strangers — including recruiters and potential employees — can follow you.You can’t be sure if they’re assessing your personal content, maybe even ruling you out of the running for that dream graduate job you’ve worked so hard at university for. Edit Your Bio and Profile Picture Think of your social media bio as your sales pitch. Use this space to outline your skills, interests and what you’re looking for in your career in a short but professional manner. If you’re on Twitter and are looking for a graduate job in sports journalism, your profile might read something like:

• “Sports journalism graduate looking for graduate opportunities”

Also, add some personality by listing your interests:

• “Passionate about road cycling, the outdoors and investigative reporting”

Edit your bio as you gain experience. This should be an ongoing task and will keep followers and potential recruiters updated with your career progress. Social media should supplement and support, not harm your career chances, so use it to your advantage. For your profile picture, use a professional headshot of you smiling, and use the same photograph across your social media accounts, so your digital brand remains consistent. Monitor Your Privacy Settings Changing your social media privacy settings stops potential employers seeing things that might harm your employability, and is something everybody on social media should keep on top of. Facebook On Facebook, you can limit who can see your profile and posts, whether that’s friends, friends of friends or anyone that cares to look you up.InstagramOn Instagram, you can change your profile settings so people must follow you to see your posts. If your Instagram feed contains questionable content, it is a good idea to go private. TwitterTwitter is an open platform, so you should be extra careful when posting publicly. Use Twitter wisely. Be proactive, and create a professional Twitter feed containing content relevant to your career goals.Tailor Your Feeds For Potential Employees If you have your eyes set on working for a certain company or you want to work in a particular sector, use your social media accounts to show you’re in tune with your goals. Re-post relevant articles and publish insightful comments on the latest industry goings-on. This is so recruiters can see that you’re committed to your career, and are always learning about the news that will affect your future prospects. Tony McChrystal, from Reputation Defender, a company that helps people clear up their online profile, advises starting before it’s too late. He told the BBC: "Start writing in the things that make you the person you want to be — preferably something you are passionate about.”Check Your Grammar And Spelling Potential employers look for professionalism and that includes your grammar and spelling. This is the easiest point on the list, so make sure you double check everything you post and don’t give in to sloppiness! This is even more important if you want a job where you’ll be required to draft wordy documents, but in all cases, poor spelling suggests carelessness. Use LinkedIn To Promote A Professional Brand And Attract Recruiters According to Talentworks, 87% of recruiters use LinkedIn but only 55% use Facebook to search for talent. The platform isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but a well-optimised LinkedIn profile updated with your skills, experience and career goals could attract recruiters looking for candidates just like you. Use it to connect with influential people within your industry, whether they’re employed at companies you want to work for or you want to follow updates from people you look up to. Find Out MoreTake a look at our blog if you’d like to learn more about student life.