Whether you’re looking for your first job out of college, seeking to re-enter the workforce after some time off, or are attempting to make a career transition, you probably know that job searching can be a long and stressful process (read here about 3 things to do before applying for a new job). The good news is, cleaning up your social media and search results can help speed that process up.
The information that’s out there publicly on the Internet about you can make or break your chances at your dream job, so make sure to take care of these things before clicking apply.
Change Your Facebook Privacy Settings
Some studies show that up to 70% of employers search for potential hires on social media before making an offer. And since Facebook is the number one social media network, you might want to make sure yours is employer-friendly.
A simple way to do this is by adjusting your privacy settings. Because while your best friend might think that meme is hilarious, your new boss might not.
And don’t forget about those posts from years ago…
Facebook has a great privacy feature called ‘Limit Past Posts’, which allows you to change all of your posts before a certain date to ‘Friends Only’. This is particularly useful if you were on Facebook during your college years!
Use the Twitter Search Bar
From celebrities to politicians, Twitter has seen its fair share of scandals… don’t become another one.
While you can protect your tweets and hide them from public view, since Twitter is a conversational platform, most people choose to leave theirs public. A simple way to scrub your account to make sure nothing you’d be ashamed of is still on your profile is by using the Twitter search bar.
Just type your username, then the word that you’re looking for (try profanities, swear words, mentions of alcohol, etc.) When something pops up that’s less than appropriate, just delete it.
Find Out What Shows Up in Google Search
If employers are searching for your name on social media, you can bet that they’re googling you, too.
The traditional way of doing this is to type your name into Google, but that can be time-consuming and unreliable. Nevertheless, it’s important to stay on top of the results, and that’s why we’re here to help you out.
Marple allows you to receive alerts whenever your name, or another term of your choice, appears in Google search. From there, you’re able to mark the results positive or negative, and even report malicious results to Google and ask them to be removed.
Sign up for free and get your job search off to the right start right here!