More Employers Screening Candidates via Social Networking Sites
Five tips for creating a positive online image
Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder
Here are five tips for job seekers to keep a positive image online:
1. Clean up digital dirt before you begin your job search. Remove any photos, content and links that can work against you in an employer’s eyes.
2. Consider creating your own professional group on sites like Facebook or BrightFuse.com. It’s a great way to establish relationships with leaders, recruiters and potential referrals.
3. Keep gripes offline. Keep the content you post focused on positive things, whether it’s related to professional or personal information. Make sure to highlight specific accomplishments inside and outside of work.
4. Be selective about whom you accept as friends. Don’t forget others can see your friends when they search for you. Monitor comments made by others and consider using the “block comments” feature. Even better, set your profile to “private” so only designated friends can view it.
5. If you’re still employed, don’t mention your job search in your Tweets or status updates. There are multiple examples of people who have gotten fired as a result of doing this. In addition, a potential employer might assume that if you’re willing to search for a new job on your current company’s time, why wouldn’t you do so on theirs?
