Manage your online profile

Networking for career progression is a ‘slow burn’ so the real value of social networking is not about ‘getting a job’ – at least not straight away. It's about creating your public, and professional, image – what some career experts call your ‘personal brand’.

Your ‘digital footprint’ is likely to be spread across several different places on the web (try Googling yourself and see what you find). You need to ensure that your social presence matches the professional image you want employers to see. Be clear about who you are, what you can offer and what you want, then make sure that message gets across in the different social media platforms that you use.

In social media, the boundaries between personal and professional can be blurred, so you need to decide how much you will reveal. If necessary, have separate accounts for professional and personal use. And don’t forget it works the other way, so don’t let your digital footprint work against you. It’s not just about the ‘off-duty’ photos on Facebook: there are numerous stories of people who were a bit too candid on Twitter about job interviews.

[Note: Content not original. Post found at https://gradireland.com/careers-advice/no-idea-about-a-career/three-ways-to-use-social-media-when-looking-for-a-job]