The Role of Social Media in Job Search and Personal Branding

I was having a conversation with a friend, and we began talking about a woman we both know. Mid-way through our chit-chat, my friend said, “I’ve never met her in person, we are social media friends.” Isn’t this true of many people we know? Even if we have met them IRL (in real life), what we know most about them may be what we see on social media. Our digital persona is the ultimate first impression of our personal brand, both personal and professional.

Social media creates and bolsters your personal brand. Personal branding on social media involves sharing your personality, passion, and expertise. If a potential employer were to Google your name, they’d find your LinkedIn and social media profiles, any news articles featuring your name, and websites that mention you (former employers). What impression would someone get of you based on the search results? This is your personal brand. It’s your online reputation.

When starting your job search, auditing your social media is as important (or more important) than crafting the perfect resume. To get you started, here are things to consider:

TalentSource Pro Tip: When we view a candidate’s social media, we like to see things like volunteer work, attendance at professional conferences, community involvement, and even re-posts or sharing of relevant professional articles.

PHOTOS – make sure your profile photo is professional and current. According to first impression expert, Kathy Friend – a wardrobe stylist, “the clothing in your profile photo should tell a story of what you do. If you work in the medical field, wearing scrubs or a stethoscope around your neck tells that story. If you work in law or banking, your audience wants to see you in a suit.” She adds, “One way to kill your first impression in real life, is if you look nothing like your social media profile pics.”
EDITING – Be sure to go through your content and delete (or set to private) anything you wouldn’t want potential employers to see. Likewise, for anything you would want them to see, be sure those posts are set to the ‘public’ setting.
CONTACTS – You want your profiles to be stable; in other words, not a newly created profile with very few contacts/followers. Look at your numbers, 1,000 connections are the number to strive for. Add to your contacts and followers as often as you can. Growing your network isn’t only beneficial for a relevant social media profile, but it’s also a good business practice. For more details about how many connections or followers you should have, check out this LinkedIn article.

Forbes has an extensive 12-step guide to cultivating your social media brand.

Partnering with recruiting professionals, like us here at TalentSource, is a strategic part of your job search. Our Smart Recruiting process gives you an ally in your job search. We help you to get in front of the best employers to show them why your background, skills, and abilities are what they need to add to their team. Check out our current job openings here. Don’t see anything that feels like a good match? Upload your resume to our database by emailing it to contact@TalentSourceStaffing.com. We can’t wait to celebrate the next step in your career!