The issue that a lot of people have when it comes to social media is the fact that it allows people to have somewhat a public perception of who you are not only professionally, but personally as well. Understanding the specific reasons on why some recruiters and corporations are hiring specific professionals over others can all come down to what they see online about you.
Mashable had a great post discussing how recruiters are using social media, and they reported that 90% of the recruiters state that they look at what the job candidate posts on their social networking profile. Whether this is on Facebook or Google+, or even what they tweet on Twitter about – all of these come into consideration when applying for a job in this current business environment.
So, what are some best practices to consider when you are looking for a job and want to make sure you are presenting yourself in a professional manner?
- Match up the current key words with your online reputation: Understanding what people are searching for in a potential candidate can help you align yourself with this reputation. For example, I have been working on establishing my reputation in PR, social media, and crisis communications – and I make note of this in my presentations I have posted online as well as my blog posts. Aligning key terms like these will help establish your professional reputation online and offline.
- Getting your application and profile information in the right networks: With the emergence of Web 3.0, there is so much data out there, so it is hard for employers to look for specific candidates based on certain key words. But LinkedIn has created an option which allows them to determine who would be the best talent for them with their new feature called Talent Pipeline, which helps in managing the various job applications and profiles in a centralized location. Here is a video with more information on this new feature from LinkedIn:
- Keeping track of talent and relationships: You never know who you will meet that can make or break your future endeavors in your professional career. Understanding this and being able to maintain these relationships within your organization and industry is crucial. Make sure you have the right apps to download and share contact information (ex. CardMunch) or knowing the specific corporate apps to download that highlight some of the available jobs out there like how PepsiCo has done.
- Having the right tools to be successful during the job application process: Whether it is practicing your interview skills or giving you the opportunity to get connected with these job opportunities – the possibilities are endless, but you just need to know what to look for and how to use these applications strategically.
- Have a long-term focus with online reputation: Being aware of what you post, share, and comment online on these various sites will be seen none only by your friends, but by others as well – so making sure you are professional and consistently proactive in managing your reputation will help you in the long run. You want to establish your personal website and blog to be your ultimate hub and heart of your online reputation, and the extensions of social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+, etc) to be part of what makes up your online reputation.
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