An important thing to cover in your job search is keeping your online footprint clean. Hiring managers will often search your name and view your social media to make sure you have a good reputation. This is something you should be proactively managing even before you start your search.
There are five simple ways you can be smart about managing your online reputation:
- Be smart about what you share online.
- Make your social media private.
- Google yourself.
- Optimize your LinkedIn profile.
- Create a personal website.
Be smart about what you share online
Pictures of you involved in risky or illegal behavior, or posts about how much you drank last night are not the best idea. Employers can find and view this content and would rightfully be skeptical of your character because of it. Be careful of how you present online. This includes problematic, hateful, or prejudiced language as well.
Make your social media private
This is a useful tip regardless of your job search. It’s good to keep your social media pages private and viewable only to friends and family. When searching for a job, you might want to consider making your pages private so that hiring managers can make their decision about you based on your personality and experience, not what you post online.
Google yourself
It’s a good idea to Google yourself so you can see what pops up when a hiring manager or employer does the same thing. If there’s an embarrassing blog post from your high school years, it would be smart to take that down. Same goes for photos. There might be some stuff you can’t control or delete, but it’s good to know what’s out there so you can be prepared.
Optimize your LinkedIn profile
This might seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people forget to update their LinkedIn pages before a job search. It’s important to have a clean, up-to-date version of your LinkedIn page so that you can fully optimize your online presence and make yourself look presentable.
Create a personal website
Creating a personal website is a great way to show off your skills and talents. It’s your own platform to post, share, and promote yourself. You can also add easy contact forms and samples of your work that hiring managers can find. A personal website is optional, but definitely can’t hurt in your job search process.