We’re all semi-experts at sleuthing on the Internet. If we meet a new crush, hear part of a catchy song or find out something wild happened to a celebrity, there’s usually a way to find more information online.
But don’t forget that you can be sleuthed, too. When it comes to your job search, employers often turn to social media and search engines to learn more about a candidate. In fact,
While you should always be considerate of what you share online, when you’re job searching you need to take extra care to mind your social manners. Employers are most often turned off by provocative or inappropriate photos and information, badmouthing previous employers, poor communication skills and discriminatory comments. Be sure that you’re online persona is free from this digital dirt and that your online connections refrain from tagging you in any incriminating statuses or photos.
This can also be a great opportunity to be more thoughtful about your privacy settings. Log out from your accounts and do a test run to see what you find about yourself. Any personal accounts you don’t want to associate with your job search should be set to maximum privacy settings, and you may want to consider temporarily changing your profile name to just your first and middle name.
Finally, give them something good to find! If you are active online, share more professional content like industry news, your awards and accomplishments and any volunteer work you participate in. You want your digital self to interview as well as you can in real life.