When it comes to job hunting, social media may have a bigger role than you think. Employers want to gain personality insights and background information from potential applicants, and they can do this by viewing profiles on various social platforms. It’s not just LinkedIn either, as some employers may check Facebook or Instagram to see what kind of person you are. While it may seem a little nosey at first, it’s important to be transparent about who you really are with these potential employers and manage your social media accounts accordingly. Social media can help you find job opportunities and showcase your availability to employers too. In this blog, we’ll talk about how you can boost your job search through social media.
Clean Up Your Posts and Profiles
The first thing a job hunter should think about doing is cleaning up your social media posts and profiles, or making them private. Older industries or companies in high-visibility roles, such as education, public service, politics, or law, may be strict about employee behavior outside of work. If a potential employer views your Instagram and sees a photo of underage drinking, it may impact their hiring decision. It’s a good idea to remove potentially damaging posts or make your profile private. Background checks or a simple Google search are a basic part of hiring, so presume that the employer will see your social media at some point. Better safe than sorry!
Be Transparent
While cleaning up your profiles is a good start, it’s also important to be transparent about who you truly are. You want your social media profiles to align with your interests, values, and thoughts. If an employer notices something interesting on your profile, they may ask about it in a future interview. If you were transparent, this would be a simple question to respond to and expand on. If you weren’t transparent, it may be more difficult for you to answer that question, and you may become frazzled. Overall, showcasing transparency is a great method to show employers that you are ready to become something with your own creative mindset, and it may make the interview process a bit easier!
Utilize Networking + Job Search Platforms
As you probably already know, there are a multitude of different social media apps or websites that can help boost your job search. LinkedIn, Handshake, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter are just a few examples. Utilizing these social media tools can help job hunters network and find an endless amount of opportunities. They can also help build connections, and having the ability to reach out to potential employers and colleagues is a huge plus.
Still looking for that next opportunity? Come join us at Barton Associates! We have openings in all of our nationwide locations, so apply to one today at https://www.bartonassociates.com/careers/!
