Nationwide: Using social media to find work

To find a business that isn't on social media is rare these days. This can be a great thing, with candidates searching for a job having more access to the inner workings of a prospective company than they have ever had before. However, it also means those same businesses have much more visibility on who you are, long before you've even had the chance to present yourself at interview stage.

So, along with your CV, your cover letter and your interview skills, more than ever your social presence needs to be up to scratch and saying all the right things. Here's a few tips to start you off.

Get your profile picture right

This is quite possibly the hardest thing to get right on social media. Your profile picture is the first chance to make an impression on a new employer and as we all know, first impressions count. It takes just seven seconds for someone to form an opinion of you so this first visual counts. So show who you are and your personality but imagine you are showing the picture to your boss. Rein in the partying and pouty images.

Check your handle

Remember the day you had to change your email address from "[email protected]" or "[email protected]" to something more professional. This might have been to apply for your first job or to send an application off to a prospective university. Whatever the reason, the same principles apply to your Twitter handle. You may have created it years ago and don't really think about it anymore, but a new employer will. Along with your profile picture your handle is the first thing they'll see and associate with you. So keep it appropriate.

Crack your tone of voice

The right tone of voice can present you in a great light or a terrible one. Alongside the content you're putting out into the world, whether it's interesting, thought provoking and most importantly spelt correctly, your tone on voice needs to be friendly, approachable but professional. Employers will be looking for someone with the skills and intelligence to hit the ground running in their company, but also someone interesting and friendly to work well with the current team.

Professional presentation

You've heard it before, time and time again, don't post your drunken, terrible pictures on social media. Present yourself well. This doesn't mean you can't be social on social media or be yourself, just be careful. Don't talk about how drunk you were, how hungover you are and definitely don't post about being angry with your current employer. Anything that could get you in trouble if you talked or acted that way in work probably shouldn't be on your social media pages.

Don't brag

Claiming to be something you're not could be your downfall. Just as lying in your CV can lead to embarrassing moments down the line, lying about yourself on social media can lead to awkward questions during interviews. Remember that anything you say will be scrutinised by a new employer and without the context of meeting you in person; your social presence can be damaging and leave you looking foolish. If there's one last thing to remember it is that you probably aren't a guru or an expert, and even if you were it doesn't hurt to be a little humble, so don't brag.

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