Do you remember the early days of Facebook, Twitter, MySpace etc. etc.? Uninhibited, we ranted and tweeted what was on our mind, uploaded party pictures or posted comments that today, we might not be too proud of. Rather naively, we believed that only our “friends” or people that wanted to be our friends would see this stuff. After all, we used the right privacy settings. Besides, they “get us”. No harm done. Right? Wrong.
As a career coach, I help job seekers create and manage a professional and authentic career image. Even before we tackle the resume, we will check your digital presence for “digital dirt”. This is the not so flattering picture or unprofessional comment that may cut your chance at landing an interview or a job. Most employers are going to conduct an internet search on your name, even before they decide to contact you. You need to know what they will have access to and what they will find when they Google you. Here are some tips to help you identify and clean up your “digital dirt”:
Social media can provide you with opportunities to create the professional contacts you need to land your next great gig. We just need to adapt a vigilant, thoughtful and common sense approach to everything we post online. This is the digital job search landscape!