Managing Your Digital Footprint
Step 1: Try Googling Yourself
What information can you find, and does it project a positive image about you?
Step 2: Privacy
You may wish to consider altering privacy settings so that only friends or followers can view your full social media profiles.
Step 3: Understand What Image You Want to Project
Keep your social media channels up to date, showcasing your best self. It may be best to remove any pictures/posts that do not represent you well.
Step 4: Keep Your Personal and Professional Profiles Separate
Create a LinkedIn account to keep your professional network separate from Facebook/Twitter. Take a look at our LinkedIn cheat sheet for further information.
Step 5: Network, Job Hunt, and Gather Information
You can gain a lot of useful information from company's social media accounts, be sure to follow these and keep up to date with prospective employers. This can be useful when applying for jobs as you can notice what language the company talks in and any important updates or projects they are working on, while they are also likely to advertise jobs through social media.
Top Tips to Create an Effective Online Presence
Monitor Your Tagging Settings on Facebook
You may wish to consider the privacy setting that allows you to view photos or posts you are tagged in before automatically allowing them on your profile.
Get Noticed by the Right People
Connect with, follow and like companies that you are interested in working for. Some employers check that you are following their social media accounts to ensure you actually have an interest in the company.
Professionalism
It is possible that an employer may search for your social media profiles so make sure you are projecting a positive image.
Remove Negativity
Tweeting or posting about how much you hate your job, for example, doesn’t project the best impression of yourself.
Create a Blog or Website
Go beyond the generic social media sites and consider creating a blog that can actively showcase your creativity.