The information that you are providing over the internet could be preventing you from finding employment.
Interviewers are increasingly relying on what they find on websites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.
In a recent survey, it was found that more than half of interviewers checked social networking sites to find additional information on candidates and 40% have chosen not to hire a candidate based on their social networking reputation.
The number of companies who are playing 'internet detectives' is indeed growing.
Here we have put together some top tips to help you keep your online presence looking professional:
- Use a suitable photo for your profile picture - one of the photos from the drunken night out with your friends may not create the best impression.
- Check your privacy settings - the best setting to use is to only allow people that you know to be able to see your profile information and photos. These settings are normally found under the profile account settings.
- Keep a regular eye on your profile to make sure that nothing deemed offensive has been written by other people on your profile page and de-tag any unsuitable photos.
- Even if you're having a bad day, never write anything derogatory or personal about your employer, colleagues or workplace - you may think that you've got away with it, but it is more than likely to come back to haunt you.
- If you use social networking for work purposes, don't display anything on your profile that you wouldn't like your boss or colleagues to see on your office desk.
- Try to keep your personal and professional contacts separate in your friend list. You could even have two different profiles for each contact list. Try LinkedIn for a more professional alternative to Facebook.
- Silly names in contact email addresses (e.g. sarah_sexylass@abcweb.com) are very off-putting and demonstrate
SWORDS
