You in a bikini? Social media and job opportunities

Senior TP Recruitment Consultant, Louise Mazzoni puts some quick job advice together encouraging you to keep your web details up-to-date, you never know who might be looking at you – and what awesome OPPORTUNITY might be around the corner.

Take it away Louise…

I always find people put their details out there on social media and never maintain that profile.  I know I look on LinkedIn, Google, and Seek Profiles all the time and there is so many profiles that are not up to date, and who knows, someone might be looking to fill a role or opportunity, and you might be perfect for it.  Your online profile or details might be hurting your chances of finding out about them.  Even if you are happy in your current role, what if there is something better out there?  would you prefer to hear about it to at least consider it?

If you do just one thing, make sure your profile photos are appropriate 🙂

Cheers

Lou

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How to stay aware of career opportunities?

Nowadays, the Internet and social networks make it easy to manage a career and to stay aware of potential career opportunities  .Just because you are currently employed does not mean that you might not want to change company or get a new role with new

opportunities in a few months or years. In order to better prepare your job search and to

increase your chances of getting a new job, a few things can be done beforehand.

1. Keeping your online profiles up to date and accurate

Most people do not think of keeping their professional profiles up to date when they have a job. It is still important to stay active on social networks and to make sure the information

you communicate is relevant. This implies checking your profile from time to time and adding any promotion you have had and any new tasks or responsibilities you have started to handle. We also recommend you to write some lines about your company to give a bit of context and to describe your role in a few bullet points. If a recruiter checks your profile on LinkedIn and Seek Profile, what’s written about you will be crucial in their decision to contact you or not. Let’s imagine that someone is looking for a marketing professional with HTML knowledge and that it is not mentioned on your profile that you’ve started to create your company’s new website and therefore had to develop your HTML skills. The company might not call you, thinking you don’t fit the profile when you actually do. Keeping your profile up to date will take less than 5 minutes and will enable you to stay visible and interesting in the eyes of the recruiters. This is called passive job search and it might get you a job without even you having to look for one.

2. Building and strengthening your network

Networking is essential and can open the door to new career opportunities. Some of us neglect it thinking it takes too much time and isn’t worth it. However, if it’s optimised and built toward precise objectives, it can be very efficient.

Stay in touch with previous classmates and colleagues. Connect with them on social networks so that you can stay aware of what they do and where they work. Do not hesitate to congratulate them on their new job or to like their updates. This is a good way to keep in touch and to maintain a good relationship. They might be able to tell you about open roles they heard about, put you in touch with people they know or to give you advice on your job search.

If you get involved in online discussion groups. Pick the ones whose topics match your hobbies, centres of interest or your job. Speak prudently and always try to say something to further the topic. Always keep in mind that potential employers might see what you say so you have to stay professional and respectful at all times. If you write articles, speak at conferences or are being interviewed, it can be a good idea to share it in your groups and to ask the members what they think of it and if they have new ideas to bring to the discussion.

Participate in professional networking events. There are usually organised after work and are quite informal. This is the perfect occasion to let your hair down after a working day and to meet new people. Participants often have a good time and leave with business cards that can be of use in their career management. The casual nature of the event enables you to get to know people better than at a business meeting and to build stronger relationships.

3. Sharing your expertise

Whether you are a website or magazine contributor, speaker at events, member of an association or a creative person who designs professional tools, do not hesitate to talk about it. You can share it on the Internet via social networks, your blog or your personal website but also mention it to people around you. This will broaden your audience and give people a better understanding of what you do. Later on, someone who hears about an opportunity can recommend you to an employer or a recruiter can contact you thanks to something you posted online and that drew his attention.

4. Your public profile

Take care of your photos you chose to use on Linked-in profiles.  Many people have got it wrong or seem to have no idea what is an appropriate or reasonable photo to use.  Your drunken night out or bikini model shoot is not the most appropriate photo to use on LinkedIN.  Take care of your Public Profile pics, updates, etc on Facebook – check what people can see about you when they’re not a ‘friend’.

LinkedIN Job searching tips – https://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/389/~/job-searching-tips

Louise Mazzoni

Senior HR Specialist

REMEMBER TP Human Capital aim to make your life easier and freeing up your time, by taking care of your recruitment needs and ensuring you get the best people possible.