Just when you think you’ve aced the interview and have reference contacts lined up with many good things to say about you, take a deeper look. Many employers today are resorting to social media sites to screen candidates. In fact, recent studies indicate that 85% of employers and 100% of recruiters will look you up on LinkedIn before calling you. So if you are a user of any one of the social networking sites that have proliferated in recent years, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter, there’s more than a likely chance potential employers have scoped you out.
You may conduct yourself well during an interview, but how do you appear online? Even simple things like the profile photo you have up on your Facebook page can leave employers with different impressions. Do you portray an unprofessional image in any way? You need to be very cautious about what the Internet is showing and saying about you.
How Employers Are Screening You
Internet screening may occur before or after an interview. If your account setting on social networking sites is open to the public, think twice about what you write and post. For instance, if you tend to keep your network of contacts informed about the status of your job hunt and interviews, you may have just shared the update with the potential employer screening you.
Think of the impression the employer will form if they read your status post saying, “Job interview tomorrow – not really the type of work I want to do, but I know it will pay well,” or “Just completed an interview – hated the HR contact, but loved the team.” These simple updates meant for your personal circle of friends may have just ruined your chances of any opportunity at the employer.
There have also been cases of employees having been fired from the job or reprimanded because of inappropriate postings to a social networking site that their boss just so happened to come across.
Here’s some insight to how employers are using the Internet to screen you – and what you should review to ensure your Internet presence shows your best front to potential employers.
Google: If you haven’t searched your own name on the Internet, Google it and see what shows up. You are likely to appear with your public LinkedIn profile page (if you have one), blogs you may have authored, photos and other information. Try to eliminate or change privacy settings to certain websites so that you do not present any information that may be damaging to you.
Facebook: This social networking site has over 600 million users. If you are one of them, review what your profile page presents and restrict public access to your profile, postings, photos and friends list, if necessary. You can make changes in Account Settings to control who may view your account. If you have a relevant and professional blog or website to share with employers, you may consider adding it to your Information page and making that particular section open to the public.
LinkedIn: This is one of the more professionally-oriented social networking sites. Employers are particularly interested in viewing recommendations from your colleagues and managers. Any information offered on professional groups you are associated with and questions answered or asked can help an employer learn more about your character and knowledge.
Twitter: What issues are you tweeting about? Have you established a presence as an expert in any particular area? How many people are following you?
It’s important to keep information appropriate and professional. Even with the 140-character limit per tweet, you can face a lot of damage with an employer when you write something inappropriate. By default, all accounts on Twitter are set for public view. Note that you can change your account settings to “protected” so anyone who wishes to view your profile or follow you needs to be approved by you first.
As more employers rely on the Internet to obtain a more accurate picture and understanding of candidates, it is important you err on the conservative side of what you write, post, and share on the Internet. In many instances, what you post on the Internet will remain there indefinitely and is accessible to everyone, so make sure it is consistent with your overall message.
Don Goodman, president of About Jobs is a nationally recognized career expert. Get a FREE Resume Evaluation, read his blog at GotTheJob.com/blog/ or contact him at 800-909-0109 or by e-mail at DGoodman@GotTheJob.com.Read more » articles by this approved career expert | Click here » if you’re a career expertImage from OneO2/Shutterstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.