The days of showing a typical resume while applying for a job are gone. Recruiters now check your LinkedIn profile, Facebook accounts, Instagram accounts, Twitter accounts, and even YouTube channels. According to the Jobvite 2015 Recruiter Nation Survey, only 4% of recruiters don’t use social media while their recruitment process, and after Covid-19 that number has increased tremendously.
Social Media
In today’s digital age, social media is no longer used just for entertainment, its use has gone far beyond than that. Social media platforms have become the best tool for recruiters for candidate sourcing and evaluation.
Social Media websites include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Quora, and many other different websites. We normally used to believe that while hiring, recruiters would look for our
LinkedIn profiles, and we focused on creating an attractive profile, however, recruiters have started becoming more personal, and they are searching for various things on our social networking accounts.
The main question is why are recruiters even searching social media accounts? The reason for this privacy exploitation is candidates only. Many candidates either lie on their resumes or in interviews, which has caused employers to become more thorough while their candidate searches. Candidates not only lie about their experiences or qualifications, but they also lie about their criminal charges, their hobbies, their positions, and even their skills.
How to Manage an Online Presence
Managing an online presence is very easy if you don’t have anything to hide, in fact, it’s a great way to tell the recruiter about your hobbies, you can also give them a little peek into your lifestyle (only productive things), and you can be as creative as you want. LinkedIn is a very professional site, you can be creative but in a very professional way, however, other social media websites are a great way to express your ideas and your emotions.
If you haven’t started expanding your online presence, then here are some steps you can follow and impress your recruiter the next time.
1 – Setting up an Account
The first basic step is to establish your online presence by creating an account. You can create an account on multiple websites, but it is recommended that you should gradually start increasing your online presence. You can start by creating an account on one or two websites, and then once you’re satisfied with the appearance of those accounts, you can move on to more social networking websites.
Every social media website has its own core competency. LinkedIn is great for job searching and recruiting whereas Twitter is primarily known for getting the latest updates and promotions from brands and it also keeps you updated on current news and events. Likewise, Instagram is used for uploading videos and photos for your followers to admire. So, you need to identify which social media website could help you in landing at your dream job.
2 – Profile Section
Every social media website has an area to describe yourself. This is the place where you can get creative and add your personal interests, your qualifications, your career objectives, and even your life objectives. If you don’t know what to add in the
profile section, you can find many ideas from the internet, and even by looking at other accounts. The more creative you become, the more you attract your employer.
3 – Managing Profile
After creating a profile, the most important and strenuous job is to manage the profile. Managing an online presence is an ongoing process, it doesn’t stop at any point, but once you get the hang of a social networking platform, you will keep on increasing your network.
Most social media websites are easy to use, as there are millions of followers, and the app has to be user-friendly for that. While the structure of every app is different, they can be learned in a day or two. If you have experience using LinkedIn, then you should be able to manage Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The first step in increasing your network is by liking pages of groups or professionals that are in the field of your interest, and you can even follow their pages or accounts if you want to stay updated with their activities.
You will also notice many small businesses or home-based businesses on these websites and if they reach out to you, respond to their request. You can even post about them or share their page with others; this is a great way of helping small businesses to reach out to more of their potential customers. Moreover, this will also create a positive impact on your employer while they check your account.
4 – Protect your Online Presence
While it sounds fun and interesting, it is also very crucial to protect your online presence at all costs. Never post any negative comments or negative posts about your job or recruiter because that gives a bad impression of you in front of your potential employer.
Posting anything that is inappropriate and could affect your career is a big no-no for your social media account. If you find anything that is irrelevant and damaging to your profile, then try saving yourself from those things, un-tag yourself, delete the post, delete that message, etc. Always remember the importance of your reputation.
Final Cues
You don’t have to master all the tools of social media to create an impression on the recruiter. The recruiter will always look for professional cues, and if they find many things happening at the same time, they might get confused, so keep it simple and elegant.
Social media increases visibility, increases networking opportunities, and it is a great platform for getting access to exclusive job openings. So, use these platforms strategically, and increase your chances of becoming a desirable candidate!