Approximately 60% of the Australian population are active Facebook users… and that’s just Facebook! With the ever-increasing number of active users across all social media channels, it’s important to recognise that your social media image can have a strong impact on your employee potential. Therefore, it’s a really good idea to do a spring clean of your social media accounts before you begin your job search to ensure a silly comment/picture you made back in 2008 can’t be misinterpreted and, in turn, effect your chances of securing your dream job.

Step 1 – Google yourself (like you haven’t already ?)

A quick Google search of your name will bring up any social media content that others are likely to see when they look for you online. If you have a nickname that you use for some social media accounts, Google that too just to be safe! Delete any old social accounts that you no longer use and that way you can focus on tidying up your active ones.

Step 2 – Profile Photos and Bio

Whether your accounts are all private or not, it’s highly likely that your potential employer will be able to gain access to at least your profile picture thumbnail. So, if your profile photo is one that you wouldn’t want your boss to see… change it.

Same goes for your social media bio… it is a good idea to ensure it doesn’t contain anything distasteful or a tag line that could be misinterpreted by someone.

Step 3 – Likes and Tweets

This is really important for those of you who use Twitter. Perhaps you tweeted about a particular issue or vented your frustration about your current employer… think of how this could be interpreted by your potential employer. if it paints you in a negative light and could be misconstrued, delete it.

Step 4 – LinkedIn

LinkedIn is one social media account that you do want to stay active on in the lead up to/during your job search. The hiring manager is most likely to search you on LinkedIn first to see what you look like – so make sure you have a clear, professional LinkedIn profile photo, and again, that you haven’t been liking/sharing anything unfavourable towards your potential job success.

This doesn’t mean you have to get rid of social media all together – certainly not! When you go for a job interview, you want to appear clean and presentable and the same goes for your presence online. These are merely some tips to ensure your social media accounts depict you in the best light possible so that you can get your dream job.