AP

Socialising: use the social networks, but remember, whatever you post there remains there forever.

Workplace Staff

Qualified and experienced graduates should consolidate their career profiles in the online workplace space this year.

That’s the advice from staffing solutions provider Professional Career Services.

Managing director Philip Park believes that your online brand profile establishes a unique digital footprint that can impress potential employers.

“Your digital footprint reinforces your personal brand credibility and establishes you as a preferred candidate,” says Park.

“It also provides recruiters the opportunity to evaluate your professional achievements online and form a positive opinion of your workplace capabilities.”

Recruiters and candidates have embraced the online market because it allows professionals the opportunity to establish their personal brands online.

From LinkedIn and Facebook to Twitter and even a blog and website, professionals are able to establish themselves as credible candidates by using online real estate.

Recruiters are increasingly googling professional candidates as a part of the recruitment process.

“Celebrities and leaders in business successfully use the internet to build their brands,” Park points out.

“Professionals can do the same to maximise their online presence and Google optimisation. Potential employers have access to your digital footprint and can evaluate your performance.

“Your conduct in a public space says a lot about your professionalism. Make sure your online presence is positive, accurate and, above all, corresponds with your printed resumé.”

Every time you tweet, blog or update your status, you leave an impression. Whether you realise it or not, you have an online reputation that offers recruiters an insight into professional attitude.

Your CV is no longer a private document, it is an online advertisement for recruiters to access at the push of a button.

Park suggests that professionals enhance their digital profiles and guard against any negative or undesirable content.

“What you leave behind on the internet is what people will find,” he says, “making it crucial that whatever you decide to post online, you keep it professional and reflective of your core values.”

Our behaviour has gone online for the world to see, not just those who may have an influence on our careers.

Park highlights the positives and negatives of the internet in the recruitment process:

Negatives

l All negative status updates, tweets and blog entries can be searched.

l Comments about clients, bosses and colleagues can and have been found, often with damaging results.

l Nothing raises red flags like dishonesty and indiscretion on social media sites.

Behave professionally in the workplace and, especially, privately. You never know who uploads photographs, tweets or a damaging status.

Positives

l Social media profiles improve search engine results. If you are using any social media as a means to publicise your skills, make sure that the correct information is uploaded.

l Build positive content. By uploading positive comments, successes and your achievements, you build a positive profile.

l Shift negativity back. Uploading regular positive content pushes negative comments further back into cyberspace and they are less regularly seen.

l Be sure to upload articles that you were quoted in, photographs of you with prominent thought leaders and professional colleagues, a professional biography, case studies in which you showcase your achievements and your own portfolio. This all helps to enhance your digital footprint.

l Privacy control. While you want potential employers to view your portfolio, you can control the privacy settings on social media sites. Be sure that personal information is kept private.

Park concludes: “Your online presence is a collection of all traces you leave when uploading content, comments and photographs.

“What you say, and how you say it, on profiles, blogs and websites, form an online reputation.

“Recruiters can get to know you and will base an opinion on what they see long before deciding to grant you an interview. It is up to you to control your online reputation.”

Online profiles do not replace traditional CVs. They provide candidates with an opportunity to introduce themselves to talent seekers.

Recruiters, if they approve of what they see online, will still need to go through a range of interview procedures to ensure that they employ the right candidate.

l Professional Career Services can be reached at 011 789 3337.