Why You Should Clean Up Your Social Media Before Applying For A Job

Social media has become an integral part of modern life. It’s not just for entertaining yourself anymore; it’s a tool that can be used to market your business, connect with new people and even find employment. However, your social media presence isn’t going to automatically land you the job you want. Although it might seem that way, most companies have strict policies on who they will and will not interview. You need to make sure you clean up before applying for a job or internship. Here are some good reasons why you should clean up your social media before applying for a job.

Organized and Consistent

When applying for a job, you need to have a social media presence that is organized and consistent. Although you might have the best content and strategies for the future, it’s pointless if you don’t have it in place already. You’re only going to be looking at a handful of social media accounts when you go through the hiring process. It’s even more crucial to have a consistent and organized social media presence for the hiring team to see. What does organized and consistent look like? It means having a social media calendar and sticking to it. It also means having a social media policy and keeping it in place. You might also consider hiring a social media manager to oversee your social media strategy and be sure everything is running smoothly.

Dated and Outdated Content

If you’re using social media to get an opportunity to showcase your skills and experience to potential employers, you can’t be using outdated or unprofessional content or images. An employer is likely to think that you don’t care about their business and are not interested in being hired. What’s even worse is that they may not even realize that they’ve come across dated or unprofessional content or images. Employers also tend to be wary when they’re looking at social media profiles and find content from past years. It obviously means that you’ve given up on keeping your social media presence up to date and have forgotten about the social media policies.

Prove you can deliver added value

As simple as it sounds, employers want to see that you’re able to add value to their business. If you’re applying for a job as an Instagram star, you may want to rethink your approach. Instagram is a marketing tool that can help businesses grow their following. If you’re applying for a job that requires you to provide online marketing services, prove your ability to generate new leads and convert them into customers. It doesn’t matter if you’re applying for a marketing job or not. Employers want to know that you’re capable of providing value to their business.

Increase your reach

The more people that are aware of your social media presence, the more likely it is that your content will come across their eyes. Experts say that the average person is online for approximately 13 hours per day. Add social media to that and you’ve got a whole new world of potential clients looking at your content. If your social media presence is small, you may not be reaching that many people. But if it’s huge and prominent, you may be overlooking some potential clients. To increase your reach, try posting less frequently when you first start out. You don’t want to be spreading yourself too thin and making yourself look unorganized. Later, you can try posting once or twice a day, but make sure your posts are engaging. Employers want to see that you’re engaging with your audience and not just sharing the same content over and over again. You can give links to articles, ask questions or provide advice.

Your groups and associations reveal a lot about you

If you manage a group on Facebook, LinkedIn or another social media platform, you can share content that’s relevant to the group. It’s like having a larger group of friends and family looking at your posts and content. If you’re a part of a LinkedIn group, try posting content that's relevant to the group's profile. It can help you build relationships with your network and increase the size of your network. If you join certain online communities and participate in conversations, you’ll be able to see what topics and topics you seem to gravitate towards. It might be something that you want to avoid. Or it might give you insight into a topic that you want to pursue further.

The past can still come back to haunt you

You may be feeling great about your social media presence and all the great content and engagement you’re getting. But employers want to see you in the present, not the past. It might feel like you’re cheating by not really cleaning up your social media presence. But don’t worry, you’re not cheating and you’re not doing anything wrong. It’s important to remember that your social media presence is for the employer and not for you. You don’t have to make it about you, you just have to make sure that your social media presence is clean and consistent. If you do decide to continue with the same unorganized and unprofessional social media presence, you may be risking everything you’ve built so far. It’s one thing to mess up once, but it’s quite another to keep doing it.

Quick tips for cleaning your social media presence

Now that you know why it’s such a good idea to clean up your social media, here are a few easy ways to get started.

- Google yourself - what shows up

- The mom or grandma test (would they approve)

- Is your posts/content clean - wouldn’t violate policies

- Create a social media policy and enforce it

- Make sure your social media profile images are clean and consistent

- Make sure your social media presence is consistent and consistent.

Conclusion

Hiring managers and recruiters want to see a sharp, consistent social media presence. They want to see that you have a consistent and organized social media policy, that you’re keeping your social media up to date, that you’re sharing relevant and engaging content, and that you’re consistent and consistent. They don’t want to see the past and they definitely don’t want to see you being unorganized or unprofessional. Clean up your social media presence before applying for a job. It’ll help you land the job you want.

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More about Bernie…

Senior Directory, Consumer Media Group at Confluent Health - Growth marketing focus on brand awareness, interest and new patient acquisition to our 44+ partner brands and 530+ locations across the US. Accountable for driving yearly business results supported by our consumer strategy and direct-to-consumer roadmaps.

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