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Social Media and Your Resume

Get the Right Kind of Attention. A large percentage of employers will use social media as a determining factor during the recruiting process; you must be noticed, but for the right reasons.

There are certain do's and don't's that you should follow if you want employers to have a successful social media experience in conjunction with your portfolio. The bottom line is, if you have information available online and you are looking for a job, the person who hires you is going to look at that online material. Follow these simple rules when using social media and your resume professionally and you can't go wrong!

• Do list your accomplishments, accreditation, and any volunteer work you have completed. When a search for your name is done online, only positive things should show up, but you should come up in the results.
• Do have relevant and recent postings.
• Do be consist with what is on your resume, cover letter and reference page. Continuity throughout your portfolio is extremely important.

• Don't include any type of profanity or inappropriate references to alcohol, as this will make you appear childish and unfit for a professional position.
• Don't advertise any previous mistakes in your life. Of course if an interviewer asks about something in your life you must be completely honest, but don't plaster any kind of blemish in your life all over your social media network.
• Don't speak about anyone (employer, family member, etc.,) in a negative manner, this makes you look difficult and unlikeable.
• Don't have grammatical or spelling errors anywhere EVER!

Network With "Your People"

People associated with you on any social network should have some relation to the industry in which you specialize, no matter how remote.

Use social media to your advantage if your network isn't as large as you would like it to be. Contact and connect with other professionals that have the same interests and ideals as you. A simple gesture can have an effect on someone you don't know that may open doors for your career. Follow or like the topics and companies that keep you updated on what's happening in your field.

Keep Up With Constant Change

As your career advances, as you participate in new activities and achieve impressive milestones, your resume is continually in a state of flux. Update all of your profiles quickly to not look lazy or out of touch. If the last activity on your account was six months ago, a recruiter might wonder if you are active in your field and may not consider you for a job.

Sites With Which to Connect

There are more social media websites out there than any single article can name. However, there are a few that stand out as the most beneficial to connect with other professionals. Each one of these platforms has a different level of interaction. Some of them are more formal than others, and there is a proper degree of etiquette that you should apply to each one.

• LinkedIn
  Out of every profile that you can have, LinkedIn is by far the most legitimate. Only your most quality information and most recent resume should be uploaded here. Recruiters can easily find and compare you to others using this site. Several tools are provided to you through this platform. The site lets you know how many times your page has been viewed and provides a comment section so that people may easily contact you.
  
  Quick Tip: Join industry groups that connect you with people who work in related fields.
• Twitter
  Twitter is a wonderful tool to maintain relevancy in the field; you may be updated about the important people and companies related to your industry. It also lets you keep things short and to the point with a cap of 140 characters. Follow related companies and look out for job postings, which often show up in their tweets.
• Facebook
  Depending on your job, you may or may not require a Facebook account. Some of the time, Facebook can actually be a liability to you. If your profession involves children or governmental matters, the idea of Facebook can be like flirting with disaster. It would help if you avoided it entirely. Be sure to manage your privacy settings only to show professional information, or better yet, go through your Facebook profile and delete any questionable items. Your goal is to appear polished at all times.
  
  Quick Tip: Even your likes can make you appear a certain way. Go through EVERYTHING before applying for a job.

With the proper behavior and knowledge, social media and your resume can get along nicely to advance your professional life and promote your relevance in today's job market. Using these tips, you cannot only secure a job but appear impressive in the professional community. If you would like a resume you can start building it using our Free Resume Creator.