YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE MATTERS IN FINDING A JOB

Yes, you know that it's great to have social media accounts, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. But, did you know that they play a very big role as you seek employment? Your social media presence plays a paramount role in your job search just as your CV, Cover Letter and interview do. Why do I say this? Just as the documents expose who you are, qualifications and attitudes, the same applies to your social media presence.

I have heard this before, but I couldn't believe it until I experienced it!

Very recently, when I had applied for a position in the Customer Services department at Deriv.com, I got to understand the role one's social media presence plays in landing a job. You wonder what happened? Here's a brief story.

When I applied for this position, I was contacted via LinkedIn. Of course, I was amazed that someone from an organization where I applied contacted me. And to my amazement, she had a tag, "Hiring". The worst thing is that she immediately told me that she thought I was a good fit for communications related roles but doubted my fitness in customer services.

Whoops! The amazement trailed away, and I looked for ways to demonstrate my abilities in customer services and explained how I could play a vital role in the organization. But the question is, why did the person think I fitted communications roles other than customer services roles? The answer is simple. Because she could see my social media accounts reflected skills in communications. For instance, I write and post blog articles; these are communications. Moreover, most of the articles are related to communication. She showed me an aspect of my strengths and skills I had not previously noticed.

The scenario reminded me that I should mind my social media presence; and you should too. Below, I share some points that can save you from embarrassment and help you out.

Stop posting nonsense: It is common to post meaningless stuff on our social media accounts; while the practice may be demonstrated mostly by youths, adults can and do, post ridiculous, immature, content. However, we should always remember that we don't know who is watching/viewing. For this reason, we should be careful as we post and interact with content available on social media.
Reflect Your Passion/Career: This is the point! Recruiters will get to know more about you from your posts/tweets more than they can from your CV, Cover Letter and interview. In these documents and discussions, you will tell them what you think they need to hear because you have seen the job description. Thus, the recruiters will give less weight to your formal application than they will to the picture of you they construct from social media. The latter is more trusted because it shows who you really are.
Be alert to the Pages You Follow and Your Comments: Employers will take extensive time to check on your accounts. Don't think that the pages you follow are less important than what you post. Recruiters will check on the pages you follow and the comments you make just to get to know you more perfectly. Comment wisely, respectfully and on matters that meet your professionalism.

The foregoing points should be added to having a professional profile photo, professional background photo and using your real name on your account.