When was the last time you updated your resume as a Word doc? Remember those days? Adding superfluous words with active verbs to depict what you did at your last job most of which was not at all what you actually did? Well, those days are long gone.
Your resume is now your social media profiles. It’s always available unlike the paper version. Perceptions, accurate or inaccurate, on your character, what you do (on and off the job), is under the microscope. Anything you do wrong – if someone takes a screen grab of your actions, pics, tweets, posts, it will be on the internet forever. And those miscues are shared on and offline among other professionals.
In this post I’ll run through a few must haves and suggestions on the top three social channels- LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, to keep your profiles looking professional.
Linkedin is the number one spot to get information on you. If your profile is a ghost town, void of information or unprofessional with no picture, no media, and no link to a website, then you are more likely then not to be passed over for the job.
LinkedIn Must Haves:
A complete bio in the summary section. Who are you, what do you do, who do you do it for, and what qualifies you to do it.
Get recommendations from previous gigs, details, jobs even freebies (on the job training). Ask everyone you have worked for to complete a recommendation. It doesn’t have to be long. One or two sentences is good.
Professional picture or something near to it. Suit and tie is preferable especially if you’re wanting to get noticed by Corporate Human Resources.
Link to your website. A complete website is recommended, but if money is tight use a service like About.me.
There is a seriously overlooked component to LinkedIn profiles and that is the media section right under your bio. This is a powerful section to show off your skillset. Presentations, videos, pictures, checklists, etc.
Add your licensing, education, awards, and other credentials
Follow companies who you would like to work with/for.
Facebook Must Haves:
Keep personal from professional. In my opinion your professional content that you post should be made public or friends of friends. Personal stuff – friends only, or only me settings.
A complete profile with professional picture. Share as much as you feel comfortable in sharing.
Same with photos. Professional photos should be somewhat foundable in search. (I know it’s not a word but it fits 🙂 ). Recruiters, hiring managers should be able to find photos of you going through training, on the job (if you can), with other colleagues in a learning setting. Keep those not so professional for your friends.
Should you create two profile accounts on Facebook? I say you don’t need two. You can happily manage business with pleasure with one account. Two gets complicated.
If you are running a business I’d suggest creating and maintaining a Facebook page. Although my “love” for Facebook is waning, a Facebook page is still a pretty good way to control your message, share your brand and market your services. Your clients might not be on there, but a page does show up in search engines when the people who hire are looking for information on your business.
Twitter Must Haves
A complete profile with a professional picture of you. I know it’s 160 characters, but you’d be surprised how much you can say in that amount of space. Stick with sharing who, what, when, where, why.
Find the businesses you’d like to work for and start a conversation.
Find like-minded individuals to follow.
Find and follow others that you emulate and say hi.
Find and follow others that are working where you want to work and
Remember Twitter is always public unless you lock your tweets. My opinion on locked tweets – why be on Twitter? Save those conversations for email and keep your tweets unlocked.
So why should you have a social media profile?
- If a potential client has a problem that needs solving, first stop is the internet.
- In the security business, word of mouth is how you get hired. Social media is word of mouth on steroids.
- Using social media effectively helps you control your brand, tell your story and share and market your services.
- Your competitors are already on social media.
What are some of your tips to keep your profiles social media accounts looking professional?
