The saying “Once it’s out there, you can never take it back” is the best way to think about the internet, because not only is it true, it’s also quite scary.
We’ve all seen how quickly things can go viral, and it can be almost impossible to stop something spreading and reaching the entire world in a matter of minutes or hours. And this is also true about the things you post yourself.
When it comes to having an online presence while also looking for clients or even a new job where you can develop and progress, you have to be careful about what you post online — and what your profiles say about you, especially indirectly.
When potential clients or employers search you online and don’t like what they see, your chances of getting the job will go down. Way down. So be wary of this and really think about what you post online.
Good fit with a business
Being a good fit with a company is a very important factor that many clients and employers look for in potential candidates. And by good fit, we don’t mean they’re necessarily worried about your physical size, but because they want to make sure that you will be able to get along with them, other employees and uphold company values.
And one of the many ways they will check this is by having a look at any and all of your social media profiles. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin or, if you love the good old early 2000s, MySpace, the things you post on social media can have a direct affect on your future employment.
If somebody looks at your Facebook or Twitter pages and sees something that directly conflicts with their company values, you probably won’t get the job.
So, be careful about what you post on social media and maybe go out on limb and think about whether you do believe in the company values before you apply for the work in the first place.
Qualifications
These days, you often need a qualification to get and hold onto a job and then progress through the company and the industry more generally. Because when you apply for a job, your potential employer will look through your social media pages and one of the things they will want to see right away is that you have qualifications.
But, not just any qualification. They want to see that you have the right ones. And sure, you might wonder “why would I apply for a job if I didn’t have the right, or even appropriate, qualifications?” Well fair point.
Something else a potential employer might look for is that the qualification you have and work experience you have, are appropriate for the job advertised and that you will be able to do the job required.
Choose and manage digital relationships carefully
While we can’t control everything the people we know do – or anything they do, for that matter, we can definitely control what we do and even who we associate with online and off.
Although potential clients and employers will mainly look at your social media profiles and things you have been up to, it won’t go over well for you, for example, if you have a messy Facebook page, which has posts from high school about teasing a classmate or how fun it was doing burnouts in a parking lot.
This can suggest give them the wrong impression about how you conduct yourself and how you treat others, even if you’ve matured since then and realized that was no way to behave.
By having otherwise ‘clean’ social media pages, where people commend you for your skills and accomplishments, shows various ways you have some (actual) innocent fun and how you spend free time helping the needy, you will have a better chance of having a good social media impression on your potential employer than if you frequently engaged in illegal activity.
A professional headshot
Having a professional headshot can go a long way and can show how serious you are about yourself and your future.
While potential clients and employers will hardly expect you to be all about work, all the time, having a professional headshot on your social media pages will display your sense of professionalism and that, when it comes to your work and your future development and success, you are all business.
Additionally, having a sense of professionalism across all of your social media profiles will improve your chances of having a good first impression on your potential employer because so much of what we do is online and anyone can literally look us up at any time.
But remember, just because a large portion of your social media profiles is professional, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have posts about your interests. Being well rounded is also important.
Your character and behavior
Your social media profiles say a lot about you as a person and are, more often then not, a person’s first impression of you before they even meet you. And that has a direct affect on what potential employers think of when they look you up on the Internet.
For example, when you’re at work, you most likely act professionally, talking to people in a normal, polite manner and generally behaving appropriately for the workplace.
However, when you leave work, log into Facebook or Twitter and start posting things like how much wine you’ve had to drink that hour or how crazy you’re going to get with your friends over the weekend, that’s when you get into a bit of trouble.
Mainly because that sort of behaviour (and perhaps worse) is what current and potential clients and employers might take issue with because it doesn’t fall in line with how they want employees behaving or what company values are.
And sure, you might think that they’re just the boss and they don’t have a right to tell you how to behave outside of work or your business contact, and in fairness you’re pretty right. But these days, it is your so-called ‘bad behaviour’ on social media that is a person’s first impression of you and not when you meet them in person.
Attention to detail
Attention to detail can be hard to convey over social media. It’s one of those things that has to be seen to be believed, either by showing past work or being supervised while working.
But, that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. By filling out and maintaining your social media pages, whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc., you can effectively display your accuracy and how well you notice things.
Additionally, another great thing about social media is that you can post or have permanent links to your portfolio with various pieces of work you have done or projects you have worked on in the past that display your attention to detail.
This can also be a great way to show work your work ethic, how well you have researched something and how you always double check everything, even if you’re sure it’s right.
Discretion
Companies often value discretion because they have clients of a certain stature, who’s own profile is important to maintain.
So, when clients and employers are looking at people, these days they look through their social media pages – and one of the many things they will be looking for is that you can keep quite about sensitive pieces of information.
When employers look on your social media profiles, they want to see that you are a trustworthy person, who will be able to keep quite about information that is not theirs to tell and respect someone’s right to reveal information when the moment is right.
Basically, mum’s the word.
Creative
Being creative and thinking outside the box can come in handy. It shows that you don’t feel limited to a set way of doing things or by what’s has been before. But, creativity can be hard to convey over social media.
A good way to start showing off your creativity on social media is by making your social media pages unique. This can be done by choosing a background or general template that stands out and will grab someone’s eye to really take notice of you.
Additionally, you can also present previous work, like pieces of writing or team projects, in a creative way by having some kind of interesting design around them, instead of just having a long, boring list of links to them.
Your online portfolio
In today’s age of the Internet, keeping an online portfolio is perhaps as important as having a physical copy in interviews, if not more.
Having an online portfolio in Linkedin, for example, allows a potential employer to look through your work history and links to previous work in their own time, without the pressure of you sitting in front of them with a physical portfolio, waiting for them to finish.
Also, online portfolios are perhaps a better way to go than physical ones because of how everything is online these days anyway and they will basically say the same things, like “I worked here for this long” or “I have this much experience doing this”.
Besides, in a lot of cases, sending a physical resume/portfolio by post to a potential employer will probably annoy them more than it will get you the job. Mainly because if you include links, they will have to spend valuable time typing the link into a search engine, instead of just clicking on it to look over your work.
Philanthropy/generosity
One of the many things potential employers want to see is that you are a good person and that your life is not all about you.
Being a generous person, who gives back when they can to those less fortunate than themselves is a quality that will be highly regarded in the workplace because it can also show that you’re a team player and you’re willing to help co-workers along if they’re struggling.
And when it comes to showing this on social media, just note somewhere in your bio that you have volunteered for charities. This will show that you are willing to help out without expecting anything in return, but won’t go around bragging about how many homeless people you helped fed or clothe at the soup kitchen or shelter.
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No one is saying don’t have a social media presence or don’t be yourself. You just have to remember that your online life does have an affect on real world life. You should also remember that the things you post on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin or where ever, should represent the person you want to be and the person you want people to think you are.
