What does your online self say about you?

You can spend hours tweaking your CV but employers are almost always going to check your social media presence as well.

In many cases this is a good thing. The employer will see how you use social media and get a better idea of who you are and what you’re interested in.

But it’s a good idea to review your profiles before you start applying for jobs.

It’s worth checking search results for your own name as well to see if employers will be able to find anything else with a simple search.

Think about the results from the point of view of a potential employer – what impression do you get? Describe the impression in a few words (e.g. hard working, creative, immature, fashionable, clever). Is that the impression you want to give?

Remember, you found this information with just a few keystrokes. A new employer can easily do the same.

Check your privacy settings on all your social media profiles and set them so that potential employers can see anything you don’t want them to.

Chances are you will provide an email address or mobile phone number with most job applications. What impression will your email address and phone message give? If in doubt, set up a simple, professional email address for job applications and keep your voicemail message simple.

Australian Curriculum Links:

Work Studies/Year 9/Skills for learning and work: Work skills
ACWSCL008
Differentiate between work-related and personal use of social media.

Work Studies/Year 10/Skills for learning and work: Work skills
ACWSCL027
Evaluate a range of online communication tools used in work contexts.

Work Studies/Year 10/Career and life design: Gaining and keeping work
ACWSCL037
Use a range of tools, methods and skills for accessing work relevant to 21st century recruitment and selection processes.

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