Connect with employers online
Many employers look at online profiles
More and more employers are "screening" potential candidates via social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter — and almost 1/3 indicated that they eliminated a candidate from the competition based on their social media presence.
Understand — and use — your privacy settings!
This doesn't mean you shouldn't post personal information (including your party pictures) online; it just means you need to be aware of the potential for recruitment — or disaster — based on your online information. You need to ensure your privacy settings are working for you, and you need to manage your online presence so you attract the kind of attention you want from potential employers.
Think about your privacy settings
Since most people are familiar with social networks, it's important to have a solid understanding of your privacy settings and what is appropriate to communicate to potential employers…and what's not. Obviously, your growing professional network having access to your spring break photos is not only unnecessary, it may even damage your reputation now and in the future — so make sure you know who has access to what!
Create an online profile specifically for professional purposes
Consider setting up a LinkedIn profile. While Facebook is primarily a social tool, LinkedIn was specifically developed to help you build and maintain a solid network of professionals in your field, and to aid employers in finding you.
Career Centre Resources
Workshops/ Group Activities
Additional Resources to assist you in utilizing your online presence more effectively
- How to Use Social Media in Your Job Search: a helpful list of tips to help you better utilize social media in your job search from About.com
- Online Marketing: Employers Using Social Media to Screen and Recruit: discusses the increase in employers’ use of social media for recruitment and the reasons some candidates have been eliminated as potential hires due to information posted on their social media pages.
- Using Social Media to Find Top Recruits: This brief article is written for employers but offers valuable insight for job seekers about how employers use social media to recruit good quality candidates—and filter out the bad ones!
- Top 10 Social Media Do’s and Don’ts: How (and How Not) to Use Social Media to Job Search: A list of ten important do’s and don’ts—along with explanations—from About.com
- 10 Common Facebook Job Search Mistakes: In this GradLife blog entry, Angela Astley points out 10 mistakes you could make on Facebook while job hunting—and how to avoid them.
- Social Networking in Plain English: This brief video provides an overview of social networking and why it’s important.
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