Social networking sites are more popular than ever and are increasingly important tools for job seekers and employers alike. When you are looking for a job or positioning yourself for career growth, it is important to have an online presence where you can showcase your skills and experience. However, use your common sense and don’t let your social networking get you into trouble! Here are some of my top tips:

DO:

1) Create an online presence

Establishing a company website and/or LinkedIn profile is always a good start.  Have you ever tried Googling yourself? Is the available information supportive of your professional image/reputation? Can your target audience access your profile?

2) Connect

Associate yourself with like-minded individuals or professional groups; this will help build your status in your industry. By joining industry forums you will also gain access to market updates and be able to exchange ideas with industry counterparts.

3) Be professional and consistent

Does your online identity correspond to your CV? What do your Facebook and LinkedIn profiles and pictures say about you? What valuable connections could you make through these sites? Ensure you have applied the appropriate privacy settings to your profiles. You would not want your boss to see embarrassing photographs of you drunk the day before your annual review!

DON’T:

1) Post funny information on your profile

While it might be good for entertainment value, I would advise not putting random, useless information on your online profiles. For example, some real life LinkedIn examples include: ‘Winner at life’ and ‘Going to be unemployed’ as job titles, and “Common sense” as a specialty. Comments like these are certainly not going to get you very far.

2) Forget the fine print

Before posting those scandalous holiday pictures onto Facebook, you may want to consider the following:

“By posting User Content to any part of the Site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to the Company an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part) and distribute such User Content for any purpose, commercial, advertising, or otherwise, on or in connection with the Site or the promotion thereof, to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such User Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing.”

3) Forget to update

Always remember to update your profiles with any promotion, new qualifications or other important work-related milestones. These are always worth highlighting. But remember, no one needs to know your hangover status.

Facebook, Linkedin, network connections, online presence, Social Media, social networking