3 Ways to Polish Your Social Media Profiles
When used correctly, social media can be a valuable means of networking—especially during a job search. However, if you are sending the wrong message with your social media profiles it can damage your career.
Here are 3 ways to optimize your social media outlets for professional networking:
1. Build a personal brand
Your personal brand is a culmination of the persona you broadcast across your social media. While you may not purposefully construct an online image, viewers of your profiles are nonetheless putting one together as they read what you put online. Begin building a personal brand by being purposeful with the information you put online. From pictures to postings, stick to conveying the best, most professional version of you. Consistency across all profiles will strengthen your image, and give potential employers or connections a chance to understand what you are about.
2. Complete Your Profiles
One of the quickest ways to create an unpolished profile is to have incomplete information. Understandably, you may not want to disclose everything about yourself online; however, filling in your professional information will help with networking opportunities. Additionally, if you are applying for jobs and an employer checks out your profiles only to see that they are half filled out they may suspect that you have something to hide. Maintaining complete, up-to-date information on your social media outlets is the best way to make the most of them.
If you don’t have any social media profiles, now is a good time to sign up! Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are all beneficial for professional networking.
3. Refine Your Information & Pictures
Perhaps you are a social media veteran, with profiles you have updated for years. In this case polishing your profiles means combing through all of your information and photographs to remove anything that could be construed as unprofessional. When looking through everything you’ve uploaded keep in mind the message each article of information is sending, and strive to convey your best, most professional self. With more and more employers checking out job applicants online, one of the easiest ways to take yourself out of the running for a position is to have unprofessional, insensitive, or sloppy pictures or posts online.
Social media is a powerful tool when used correctly, and polishing your profiles will set you up for career-building success.