Do's and Dont's of Social Media While Job Hunting

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn serve as invaluable resources to marketing professionals, business owners, and even job hunters and recruiters just to name a few.

For recruiters and hiring managers, more and more emphasis is placed on a candidate's social media use than ever before.  Below are a few items to consider when using social media tools while also maintaining a job search or building a client base.

1.  Build your brand.  Social media allows a platform for you to brand yourself.  Assure that your views are clear and consistent and are not contradicting one another as time passes.
2.  Be mindful of extreme views.  Whether it be politics or religion, or anything in between, understand that your posts are immediate and permanent.  Your views will be seen by others is a variety of lights and you will be judged by your beliefs, whatever they may be.
3.  Do not over exaggerate.  Don't oversell yourself.  Don't lie.  Don't exaggerate.  These are all common sense reminders for everyone.
4.  Keep it positive.  Realize that while you want to seem real, you do not want to seem negative.  No matter what or whom the negative posts are about, remember that these will also be visible to the world and the world will judge you accordingly.
5.  Stay sharp.  Using slang, abbreviations, or just plain bad English will also be subject to review.  Those reading your posts will form an opinion of you based on the way that you speak.

In summary, remember that your social media profiles help shape your overall presentation.  What you post is who you are.  And most importantly, all posts are permanent and subjective.  Stay sharp, everyone.