With news stories about people losing their jobs over an inappropriate Facebook status, it’s no surprise that the thought of a prospective employer checking over your profile brings most of us out in a cold sweat! However, Facebook can be used to make a good impression, just as well as a bad one. So these are our five tips to polish up your profile!
1. Keep It Appropriate
Hopefully most of this part goes without saying! Don’t put anything on your profile that you wouldn’t want to be seen or talked about while you’re at work. That means making sure there’s nothing too provocative on display – drunken photos and statuses slating your previous employers are always going to be red flags. Of course, we all make mistakes! You can go back through old posts and remove tags from pictures, or delete past comments and statuses you might regret!
2. Support Your CV
Facebook provides space to detail your education and employment history, so fill it out. This information will all be on your CV already, so you’ve allowed potential employers to corroborate what they’ve already seen. Having friends with the same details in common also helps to back up what’s there. If you allow your profile to be easily searched and viewed, keeping your info up to date can allow recruiters to match you with possible opportunities too.
3. Like Wisely
The pages you like can help to show off more about your personality. While things like films, sports teams and other hobbies are great to show the interests you have outside of work, you can also demonstrate commitment to your chosen career too, by following businesses in the sector. Charitable causes never hurt either. The things to avoid are any political or controversial pages: things that might jar with the possible values of an employer.
For your own job searches, most recruitment companies will share their job listings via social media, and many large companies maintain Facebook pages purely for career progression and to attract new talent.
4. Attention to Detail
While most people will think nothing off the occasional spelling error in a casual environment like Facebook, it will always look best if you’ve made the effort to pay close attention to things like spelling and grammar. There’s no need to agonise too much, but appearing conscientious about the things you say on social media will suggest a thoughtful attitude in your professional life as well.
5. Be Yourself
By all means clean up your profile and make it more professional, but don’t over-censor yourself! An overly clean profile might by just as much of a turn-off – you risk looking boring, or worse, like you have something to hide. Continue to post statuses, chat with your friends and be yourself.
Ultimately, that’s all people will be looking for!
