Your online social media profile can positively or negatively impact your job search.
This audit will help you evaluate whether your online accounts are helping or hurting your chances of employment.
More than half of employers say they have rejected an applicant because of what they have found on the jobseeker’s social media profiles.
It’s important to recognize that your social media activities are positively or negatively building your career brand.
You may have accounts on multiple social media services — LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram — and more.
The most important from a job search perspective is LinkedIn.
We will assess all your social media accounts, but there is a separate section for eva
luating your LinkedIn presence.
In general, you want to avoid controversy on your social media accounts when you are in the midst of a job search.
That means avoiding religious or political status updates or shares and “scrubbing” posts that show you engaging in anything that a prospective employer may find offensive or inappropriate.
There are five steps in this audit.
The first step is to establish what is already out there about you — locating and documenting your profiles.
The second step is to evaluate your presence on existing social media channels.
The third step focuses on your LinkedIn profile specifically, since LinkedIn is an important tool in your job search. [RELATED: Be sure to follow these steps: what to do when a recruiter visits your LinkedIn profile.]
The fourth step helps you assess whether you should set up additional profiles.
The final step is to take a “big picture” approach to your social media accounts.
Not only is it important to have some kind of social media presence, but you also want to evaluate what that social media presence says about you.
Does it present a positive or negative impression of you?
Does it establish you as an expert in your field or a thought leader?
STEP ONE: Google Yourself
Log out of your Google accounts (i.e., Gmail, YouTube, etc.) if you have them.
Clear your browser cache.
Then, Google your name.
Hint: “Think like a hiring manager or recruiter” when conducting your Google search.
Start with just your basic name, but narrow it down by including your geographic location (“Jane Jobseeker Omaha”) or job title (“Jane Jobseeker public relations”) if you have a common name.
Don’t get too specific or you won’t be seeing the same results that the hiring manager will see when he or she Googles your name.
You may wish to conduct two or three searches and answer the following questions and/or fill out the worksheet a couple of separate times to see the different results you receive.
Answer these questions:
Answer these questions:What is the total number of responses Google came up with: _____
How many images or videos of you are on page 1? _____
Are there any endorsements from others about you on the first page of your Google search results? (Yes or No) _____
Next, for your first 1-3 pages of search results, assess each result with the following information: Source, whether it pertains to you, and whether the impact is positive, negative, or neutral.
Use the worksheet below to rate the first 20 results in your Google search.
Now, assess your total scores.
How many YESES do you have? _____
How many of the results listed are about you (and not someone else)? _____
Next, assess how many POSITIVE results you recorded.
Are at least 70% of the results that are about you positive — or at least neutral? _____
If you have negative information about you on the first page of your Google search results, you will need to do some work on your online reputation management.
One of the best ways to do this is to claim your social media profiles (i.e., Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) and to publish content (i.e., writing articles, being published in periodicals associated with your profession, writing LinkedIn posts, etc.).
You can also use an online tool like the Reach™ Online ID Calculator™ to assess your online presence.
You can find the tool here: http://careerblast.tv/online-id-calculator/
WORKSHEET: GOOGLE SEARCH RESULTS
Source (Name of Website) About Me (Yes/No) Impact (Positive/Negative/Neutral)
______________________ ______ ___________________________
______________________ ______ ___________________________
______________________ ______ ___________________________
STEP TWO: Assess Each Social Media Profile
Assess each of your social media profiles and determine if there is any information that could potentially be harmful to your employment search.
Check for completion of information (especially in the “bio” section of each profile) and consistency in imagery and message.
Fill out one box for each social media profile — for example, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Quora, and YouTube.
Social Media Profile (i.e., Twitter or Facebook)____________________________________________
Username/Profile Name __________________________________________________________
URL _________________________________________________________________________
Number of Followers/Fans ________________________________________________________
Date of Last Activity ____________________________________________________________
Do I have any of these on my profile:
- Inappropriate photos
- Me or anyone else drinking or doing drugs
- Bad-mouthing coworkers/employers
- Bad grammar/spelling
- Discriminatory comments
- Confidential information (especially related to a current/past employer)
- Political comments/views
If you have any controversial or inappropriate information on your profile, either delete the post (preferred) or set the setting for that post/picture to private.
Remember, however, that once information is posted online, it lives online forever.
And, even if you have your privacy settings set to “Friends Only,” that doesn’t mean that the information won’t be shared.
Any of your friends can take a screenshot of your information and share it.
Next, you want to make sure that you are active on all the platforms you have an account on.
Delete — or make inactive — any accounts you’re not currently using regularly.
Also, check your usernames — particularly on Twitter. Make sure that they are all in “good taste.”
On Facebook, in particular, it’s important that you have some information that is public. Your profile photo and employment and education information should be visible to all visitors, so make sure your privacy settings are set to allow that.
You also want to look at your friends/follower counts. This is your network. Identify whether you need to increase the number of people you are connected with.
STEP THREE: Evaluate Your LinkedIn Presence
LinkedIn is likely your most visible employment-related social media profile, and you should spend some time making sure that it represents you well.
Answer these questions:
- Have you set up your personalized URL for your LinkedIn profile? (www.linkedin.com/in/yourname).
- Does your profile picture represent you well?
- Do you have your contact information available on the profile? (phone number and additional email addresses)
- Have you included all the languages you speak?
- Are the key projects you’ve worked on including in your profile?
- Have you included all the courses you’ve taken?
- Does your information on LinkedIn match up with your resume information?
- Review your Groups — are there any “weird” ones in there you should remove?
You also want to make sure that your LinkedIn profile meets the site’s definitions of “profile completeness.”
LinkedIn has its own criteria for “profile completeness,” which has changed somewhat over time.
To be considered “complete” by LinkedIn’s standards, you need these items in your LinkedIn profile:
- Your industry and location
- An up-to-date current position (with a description)
- Two past positions
- Your education
- At least three skills
- A profile photo
- At least 50 connections
Having a strong LinkedIn network is also important, so you need to assess the strength of your network.
While LinkedIn only requires 50 connections to be “complete,” you need to grow your network beyond this.
You should have a minimum of 100 connections. The more connections you have, the better LinkedIn will work for you.
STEP FOUR: See If There Are Any Gaps
While it’s not necessary to have accounts on multiple social media platforms, you need to identify if there are any industry-specific or job-specific social media accounts you need to have in order to boost your credibility as a candidate.
For example, if you are a developer, consider an account on GitHub.
If you’re a photographer, you definitely need a Flickr and/or Instagram account.
If you’re a designer or artist, consider an account on Behance.
If you’re a writer, think about signing up for a Tumblr or Medium account.
How do you know what profession-specific social media presence you need?
Ask colleagues.
Google others in your profession and see what social media platforms they use.
Inquire of your professional association contacts.
Read industry trade journals and see what apps and websites are mentioned.
STEP FIVE: Assess Your Total Social Media Presence
The final step is to ensure consistency across all your social media profiles.
For example, consider using the same professional photo on all your social media accounts (especially LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook) so it’s easy for the prospective employer to see that it is your profile.
Go back to Step One and Google yourself again, and continue to do that weekly and see how your results change as you pay more attention to building and maintaining your social media profiles.