MANAGING YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE TO BENEFIT YOUR CAREER

In our digital world, more and more employers and recruiters are turning to the internet & social media to find information about candidates and potential employees.

The negative ramifications of an unprofessional or insensitive online presence can be highly detrimental. It is now more important than ever to make sure that your online profile presents you positively.

Please read on to discover our top tips to ensure your online presence helps, not hurts, your career ambitions.

Google yourself:

The first piece of advice that we always give is to do an online search of your first and last name to see what comes up. You should go through the first couple of pages of the search results, making sure you try a few different search combinations. For example, your name and school/college/university you attended, or perhaps your name and town/city you live in. This may highlight any potential red flags, enabling you to take action.

The above is important because it isn’t just social media pages that will be searched. Some people think they won’t be found as they don’t have social media, but if they’ve had their name associated with anything negative in a press article, for example, it will come up in a quick google search.

What you share lasts forever:

It may sound a little clichéd, but it’s true!

You might think a silly TikTok trend, a funny picture after a few too many, or a rude, politically incorrect ‘joke’ won’t be taken seriously, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.

What you post on social media can be seen as a reflection of who you are. It is not uncommon for clients to cancel interviews having looked at candidates’ social media pages. It may sound harsh, but with the internet quite literally at your fingertips 24/7, the first thing many people do after meeting someone is to try to find them on social media. If you, as an estate agent, had just shown a potential buyer around a property and given them your business card, they then have everything they need to find you online. Employers simply want to know that if this does happen, nobody is going to come across a picture of you passed-out drunk in Ibiza, or an offensive, politically incorrect tweet.

Email addresses & social handles:

We all remember our first email address – don’t worry, we still cringe at ours too! When it comes to looking for a new job, it is important to have a simple, more professional email address, ideally one that doesn’t give you the ‘ick’ when having to spell it out over the phone! You would not believe how many people we have had to point this out to over the years. Very often, they hadn’t given it a second thought when putting it on their CV. This really can make the difference between securing an interview or not.

With regards to social media handles, although these don’t get put on your CV, please bear in mind that a potential employer and/or recruiter may check out your socials, just as you may have theirs. We recommend keeping them clean!

Social media profiles:

These days, you will be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t have at least one social media profile. It has become second nature for recruiters and employers to ‘check you out’ on social media, whether it is before or after an interview. We are not saying that you must keep every aspect of your life strictly professional, we appreciate that’s not realistic. However, what you can do is privatise your social media pages or restrict what the public can see. This way, you can still post whatever you like without someone who you are not connected being able to see every picture you post.

Pictures / profile photos:

Be mindful when choosing profile pictures for your socials, especially when you are looking for a new job. As we have mentioned, one of the first things a recruiter or employer will do is try to find you on social media, especially LinkedIn.

As LinkedIn is a network for professionals, you should avoid the following:

• Funny faces / provocative poses – it might seem obvious, but we have seen many LinkedIn photos with tongues out! LinkedIn isn’t TikTok/Instagram.
• Holding an alcoholic beverage – this can create the wrong impression.
• Group pictures – your LinkedIn page should reflect YOU, not your friends and family.

Other social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram & TikTok can be more personal and casual. However, it’s always good to keep in mind that your pages could be viewed by literally anyone. It is important, therefore, to be mindful of what is visible to the public.

Your WhatsApp photo may be one that you overlook when searching for a new job. These days, people are more likely to send a WhatsApp message rather than a text. We would, therefore, advise you to take the time to have a look at your chosen WhatsApp photo and ask yourself if you would be happy for a potential employer to see it.

Online side hustles:

In the current economic climate, more and more people are taking on additional part-time work. Some even have their own online businesses bringing in extra income, examples of which include selling homemade desserts, clothing, beauty products, etc.

It is important to bear in mind that if your name is connected to any other business, employers will want to check it out to ensure the business won’t reflect badly on their brand. You will be their employee at the end of the day, so not only will you be expected to uphold their reputation (some side hustles may not be a ‘good look’), but this could also be perceived to be a major distraction to your day job!

Podcasts:

More and more people are starting their own podcasts. If this includes you, please be careful not to let this jeopardise any future employment opportunities. We have personally experienced clients discovering and listening to potential employees’ podcasts to their detriment. They will almost certainly be put off by any ‘controversial’ topics that you might be discussing.

We hope that this blog has given you some food for thought. You can still have fun with your social media pages, just be mindful of what is visible to the public as you never know who is looking at them. At the end of the day, you don’t want a google search to potentially ruin your chances of a successful career.