MANAGING YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION

In our digital world, more and more employers are turning to social media to find out about candidates and potential employees after receiving their CVs. According to research, as many as three quarters of recruiters use social networking sites to screen prospective employees. The negative ramifications of an unprofessional or insensitive online presence can be severe causing employees to lose their jobs.

It’s more important than ever to make sure that your online reputation presents you positively. Read on to find out how best to manage your online reputation.

Maintain your social feeds to present a positive, professional image

If you have social profiles already active, take care to present yourself in a professional light by being aware of what you’re sharing online. If you find something you’ve shared in the past that may be damaging to your online reputation and that you no longer agree with, try to remove it so that it no longer reflects badly on you.

Make sure you understand your privacy settings and terms of service for each social media account. Ensure that your privacy settings, especially on Facebook, are set so that any non-employer-friendly data, posts or photos aren’t visible on your public profile. You don’t have to completely avoid sharing photos or posts, but if they’re not employer-friendly, then it’s important to make sure they’re not visible to the public.

Regularly review your profile so that if you do find any inappropriate posts, you can delete them before they could put a job application and your online reputation at risk.

Keep track of your online image

The internet is a big place, so it’s hard to know everything that’s online about you if you’re not looking. You want to make sure that you’re locatable in the right places online, and that the online information relating to you everywhere else fits with the organisations that you’re applying for.

Therefore, it’s crucial to check where your name is turning up in searches, using Google Alerts, and to be aware of the consistency of your personal brand on websites, directories, databases and social media accounts.

Be strategic about what you share online

The most crucial point to remember about your online reputation is that it can be easily damaged by an ill-thought-out tweet or social media post. You need to be careful about what you share online since it becomes public information and will no longer be under your control once you press send.

Think before you post anything – the rant, practical joke or controversial comment that you share in a public online space could come back to haunt you later in life. It’s also a good idea to review your contacts and followers online since you never know who they’re connected to.

If you’re looking to apply for a job, make sure that your social accounts are managed appropriately to present a positive and professional online image. At Property Personnel, we can help you find the perfect job in the estate agent industry, just contact us today to start your journey.