Social media sites: Your friend or your enemy?

When you build your personal brand you have to be consistent, and juggling several social media sites makes consistency quite the task. However, there are a few things you can do to make it easy on yourself. For instance, think about what you say and how often you post.

You should also be aware of a new trend in job interviews - asking for login information to social media accounts. Whether you agree with the practice or not, it is out there.

Facebook
Facebook is by far the biggest social media site with more than a billion monthly active users. Remember it is not only your friends who can find you. Future employers will look for your profile so be aware of your privacy settings.

Posting on Facebook is not a problem, but what you post might be. Do not be inappropriate, not even if it is simply a joke. Irony can be difficult to understand – especially in writing. Instead spend time on your background, and we don’t mean your hometown or parent’s names. Add your educational background, internships etc. and anything that can tell an employer what qualities you possess. Reduce yourself to only having appropriate pictures and do not post anything you will later regret - once it is online it will stay online.

LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a business network site 200 million users strong, and as stated in the last blog post, Tips and tricks from the PLU Career Development Office, LinkedIn is perhaps the most important social media site when it comes to building your personal brand.

LinkedIn’s main purposes are to improve your business network and display a resume. You should also also add a professional headshot and as much relevant information as you can. The main tip for LinkedIn is to connect, connect, connect. Connect with classmates and friends who will work in the same industry as you, join your school’s alumni group etc. Today, your network is often what gets you the interview in the first place, but do remember that quality is better than quantity.

Twitter
Twitter is the second largest social media site with an estimated 500 million users, so it is a perfect place for you to start or continue your personal brand. First of all, make sure you have the right name on Twitter. Having someone else taking “your name” makes it more difficult for you to keep a consistent online brand since you will have one name on Facebook and LinkedIn and another name on Twitter.

Again, fill out all of your information that can be used for branding purposes and follow people who tweet about your professional interest – not celebrities. Also be aware that anyone can look up your twitter account as long as they are signed up for Twitter, unless you lock down your profile, which has its own impact for employers since the majority of profiles are not private.

Let us leave you with one last piece of advice: Make sure your social media sites are linked to each other!