If you look back at the last few years, there has been a growing buzzword used by businesses, organisations and individuals situated all over the world. This word is Social Media! The amalgamation of two very different words, social media was born out of the World Wide Web.
It has the ability to report the news to you, live and uncensored, the ability to bring down governments and the ability to get you a job!
In a recent survey of employers, 90% would check a social media network before or during a candidate’s interview process. These include Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, so if you’re on any of these networks, which statistically you probably will be; you’ve been warned!
Tweets on Twitter, Photos uploaded on Facebook and updates posted on LinkedIn may not be as private as you think and could unfortunately damage your job hunting opportunities and career prospects.
However, if you manage your social media networks right, far from being damaging, they can enhance your job hunting opportunities and it’s not as if it’s hard to do, you do it on a daily basis after all.
Check your privacy settings and what groups or pages you may like! More often than not you may have set your photos to private, but not any groups you may be a part of and these can show up on your flashcard page. If you don’t want recruiters/employers to see this, either leave the group or look to change your privacy settings.
Be careful what you say and to whom, Twitter is a prime suspect for this point. Twitter can turn from a friendly micro-blogging device into a disaster for your career opportunities very quickly, with one rash tweet.
Apart from taking care of your social media in a reactive role, you can also take a proactive position! Joining professional networks to interact with possible contacts, making sure you keep up to date with latest industry news and developments within your field can really show your commitment to any potential employer to your ambition and commitment to any career.
Social media is the new kid on the block and it’s got lots of friends in high places, be aware that recruiters no longer rely on just the interview to hire someone anymore.
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