Job Hunting? How to Clean Up and Maintain Your Online Presence

by Sera Avila, Client Service Coordinator, Acclivity Healthcare

Long gone are the days when a hiring manager screened candidates based solely on the information provided in a resume and interview. In fact, more often than not, hiring managers are using social media and the internet to screen potential candidates and verify information provided by the candidate. With the vast amount of resources available to hiring managers in today’s digital world, it is becoming increasingly more important to clean up and maintain your online presence. Here are a few key steps you can take to ensure your online presence lives up to your professional image:

• Search Yourself- The first step to improving your online presence is assessing what currently exists. How many of the first page results pertain to you? Are there any that include inappropriate or unflattering photos or comments? Do you see any results with old resumes or information pertaining to old jobs? Click on each result that pertains to you and review the content. If there is unwanted content, login and claim the information or contact the site to remove it.
• Review Your Social Media Sites- Most of us know it is best to avoid potentially compromising photos for your profile picture on social media sites, however, when is the last time you looked over your account to see what else is being shared? Start by adjusting your privacy settings. You can select how public the information you are posting is, who can see your pictures, who can comment on your posts and much more. While most profiles can be set to private, generally profile pictures are public so it is important to choose a photo that portrays an image that is suitable for employers to see. Posts that include excessive criticism, inappropriate images or inappropriate language can be red flags to employers. Remember, even if your profile is only visible by friends, posts can still be copied, shared or photographed. Nothing on social media is private.
• Ensure Your Professional Credentials Are Up-to-Date- Many job seekers create accounts with career sites to search for current openings and apply for jobs. What they forget to do is remove or updated the account when they obtain employment which means that their resume and work history is still out there. Make a note of where you have posted your resume online and check back periodically to ensure that your resume continues to accurately reflect your experience. It’s also important to check for spelling, grammar, punctuation and phrasing issues every time you update.

With the majority of hiring managers reviewing their candidate’s online presence, it is critical to ensure that the self you share online reflects the self you would portray to a hiring manager. Anytime you use the internet consider the content you are sharing, the people you connect with and the accuracy of information you are posting.