Of course, anyone who is looking for a new job doesn't want to miss the opportunity for getting the desired position. If there are two or three candidates in the last interview round it could be that a recruiter or employer conducts a quick internet research. We would like to give you a few tips from our recruiting experts on how you should present yourself in such a situation.
1. Consistent information on all platforms
It is worth harmonizing your personal information on all social networks when you start job hunting (just after you have updated your CV). It could be confusing for potential employers to find conflicting information about your current position on different platforms.
2. Be proactive on LinkedIn
In our Coopers blog post Your perfect LinkedIn Profile – 10 Great Tips we described how important it is to join relevant groups, make new contacts and build a network whilst job hunting. Social networks are a great way of creating a positive image of yourself.
3. Google yourself
This is an easy task: Enter your full name in Google and see what the search results show. If you discover links to photos and content which may not impress your future employer, then either delete it or change your privacy setting of your social network, so that only you and your contacts can see it.
4. The importance of your profile picture
No matter how strictly you set your privacy settings of your social networks, your profile picture will always be visible. So, it is worth uploading a good picture whilst you are job hunting. For professional networks such as LinkedIn and XING, this is good practice, for private networks like Facebook and twitter we also recommend having a decent photo whilst job hunting.
Here is what you need to look out for:
1) The photo should not be blurred.
2) The face should not be too far away or too close.
3) Avoid group shots.
4) Avoid photos of pets or children.
5) No photo is not the answer: What is the person trying to hide?
If you would like to see an example of a good profile picture, look at the photos of the Coopers team.
5. Links to personal websites
If you would like to include links to personal websites in your CV or in application e-mails – or if you have even developed your own CV website - then it would be good only to include content that your employer would like to see. Of course, this is not only at the time when you send off your application, but during the entire jobhunting period. Generally, we only recommend naming blogs or websites that are relevant to your work.
6. Customize your privacy settings
It is important that you are conscious of your privacy settings for each social network. On LinkedIn for example you can customize exactly which sections you would like everyone to see. Of course, when you are job hunting it is best to present as much information as possible. On the other hand, on you may want to change your settings on Facebook, so that only your friends can see them.
We hope that these tips will be able to help you impress your new employer when you're jobhunting!
Image by: LinkedIn
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