This is a tough job market. One ad brings many, many responses and you might not get in even if you know somebody. So what role does Social Media play in your hunt for the perfect job? More than you would think. Oh, I know, you’ve read the stories about deleting those pictures where you were drunk or dressed inappropriately. But there is a lot more that you can do. And it isn’t all about deleting. Thanks to Facebook’s option to backdate posts you can also add stuff to your timeline that you think will help you. First, though, let’s look at what you should delete:
- Are you old enough to have had a My Space account – delete it. Chances are it embarrasses you even if it isn’t truly terrible. You don’t look that great in the death metal T-shirt and if that was your girlfriend at the time, don’t tell everyone now. So delete it. And, yes, a savvy employer would find it.
- Now, go back through your Facebook page and take out the stuff that is tasteless or really immature.
- Then go to LinkedIn and rethink how you worded some old jobs and edit them. You don’t have to sound like the CEO but make sure you sound like you took the job seriously.
Next, let’s look at what you should add:
- If the position you are hoping to get is one that some of your hobbies or volunteer positions go with nicely, upload a picture or two to your timeline and talk about the hobby from that angle. Put a caption on that is more than, “me with a dog waiting for adoption.” And say instead, “I met Duke waiting for adoption while spending the afternoon helping at the Urban Dog Rescue shelter.”
- You don’t want to add anything fake but there was a time you didn’t think your church youth group was that cool. Now you can upload a picture and mention being a team leader when the youth group went to Mexico to build workforce housing.
Last, don’t over do it. It has to seem natural to your friends and to a future employer. If your timeline is suddenly littered with pictures of the XYZ corporation headquarters and every caption is, “Where I hope to work someday.” No one is going to buy it.
