Out of all the steps you need to take to get the career you want this year, this is the easy part.
Spending a little time to check that your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest – whichever social media platform you’re on – are aligned with your goals and values is vital.
While you may not be using all of them for professional purposes, it’s well known that potential employers will go straight to your Facebook or Twitter page to check you out. And even if you think you have the highest privacy settings in place, double check because companies like Facebook regularly change their privacy tools (they did in December 2012), often leaving you exposed to the public unless you have updated your settings.
But beyond the usual warnings in relation to privacy, you need to make sure your social media profiles are consistent with your personal brand. Set aside some time to make sure that your online presence reflects where you want to be and is devoid of anything inappropriate.
“I think Googling yourself is the most important thing,” says career coach and brand consultant Gillian Kelly from Career Edge. Knowledge of how you’re being represented is the first step. If you haven’t Googled yourself, there might be [negative] stuff out there that you’re not aware of.”
“Google yourself first and then make sure that everything that’s coming up online is aligned with your personal brand or how you want to be perceived in your profession so that you can build consistency.”
HOMEWORK: What you need to do today
- Get Googling: Google yourself and see what comes up. Take note of any photos, status updates or Twitter comments attributed to you that may be deemed inappropriate or inconsistent with your brand.
- Get some privacy: Update your social media profiles and ensure that you have strong privacy settings in place.