Spring Cleaning

Tidying Up Your Online Presence
March 20th marked the first day of spring, one of my favorite seasons. Enjoying sunshine, fresh air, blossoming vegetation, and new births just makes me feel happy. As Mother Nature renews herself, many people follow suit and work on “cleaning up” various aspects of their lives.

Last year I wrote a spring cleaning blog about dusting off your attitude. This year I thought I would focus my spring cleaning tips on ensuring a professional online presence.

Society as a whole is becoming more reliant upon technology, and the world of hiring is no exception to this trend. Independent studies from Harris Interactive, Jobvite, and Reppler show that between 37% and 91% of employers check social media sites before making a hiring decision. While this is quite a wide range, even if only two out of every five employers are looking at your social media profiles, the importance of maintaining a professionally attention grabbing presence is evident.

The following are tips for tidying up your social media in order to make the desired impression with employers.

Eliminate:
• Spelling and grammar errors
• Risky / inappropriate photos
• References to drugs, alcohol, or guns
• Negative or discriminatory comments about a person, group, job, school or company
• References to sex or violence
• Profanity
• Lies about background or experience
• Public debates / disagreements

Be Cautious of:
• Political or religious statements
• Vehement opinions about news items

Include:
• College and career goals
• Activities, groups, teams, and clubs
• Volunteer efforts
• Awards and recognition
• Highlights of skills – interpersonal and work related
• Work experience
• References and recommendations

Hopefully these spring cleaning tips have given you some ideas for improving your social media presence in the eyes of employers. Just keep in mind that this is not a one-time cleaning project, but an ongoing process . . . like an eternal spring. 🙂