iSchool Career Center Newsletter 3/10/2014

March 10, 2014 Career Newsletter

Career Tips

Social Media Part I: Your Virtual Presence

Your virtual presence should serve to enhance your professional career, no matter what form of Social Media you participate in. Your online professional presence does not just occur on LinkedIn, it also happens on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and any other online forum. Follow these tips to enhance your employability!

Be professional. A study by CareerBuilder found that potential employers have taken candidates out of the applicant pool due to Social Media posts. The top two negative behaviors they noticed were provocative and inappropriate photos/posts and information about candidates drinking or doing drugs. They also took note of candidates who badmouthed previous employers. Instead, you should try and remain consistent and appropriate in all of your online interactions. Even if you believe your online content is protected, remember that once it’s online it is permanent, and a screenshot can be shared by all.

Stay positive. Positivity online is one way to help you get that hire! Employers want to see that you are enthusiastic and energetic overall. Think twice before venting your frustrations on Social Media and do your venting in person to friends instead. This doesn’t mean hide who you are as a person. On the contrary, highlighting the positive aspects in your life is a great way to showcase your personality.

Don’t remain anonymous. Many people use an alias on Facebook or Twitter to hide their real identity. However, recruiters and potential employers will google you. Not being able to find someone online can be almost as damaging as finding something negative. If you can’t be found or your pages are private, employers assume that you have something to hide. So keep your private information private, but provide some public posts of positive and professional content as well so that you can curate the material that people do find about you.

Promote yourself. Chances are that there is more than one person in the world with your very exact name. Instead of hiding who you are online, try to make sure that when an employer does a google search, they find you! It may be possible they confuse you with someone else who has your name but does not have a good reputation. You would not want this confusion to occur simply because you aren’t marketing yourself.

Once you find your job. Just because you’re hired doesn’t mean that you’re out of the woods. Make sure your read the HR handbook for Social Media guidelines, as you can be terminated for inappropriate posts. Besides, you want to continue to showcase your professionalism as you move up and through your career, it’s part of building your personal brand.

Career-Related Events This Week

Finding Jobs & Internships
Monday, March 10 | 3:30 – 4:30pm | MGH 134

Successful Interviews
Wednesday, March 12 | 3:30 – 4:00pm | MGH 134

Resume & Cover Letters
Thursday, March 13 | 3:00 – 4:00pm | MGH 134

Dependable Strengths for Grad Students
Friday, March 21 | 8:00 – 5:00pm | MGH 134

Dependable Strengths for Grad Students
Monday, March 24 | 8:00 – 5:00pm | MGH 134

External Events

Komputer Enthusiasts of Greater Seattle
Monday, March 10 | 6:00pm – 9:00pm

The Seattle MySQL Meetup Group Monthly Meetup
Monday, March 10 | 6:30pm

Bellevue Job Club Networking
Tuesday, March 11 | 10:00am

ProLango Mixer
Tuesday, March 11 | 5:00pm

Marianne Sweeny: Search, SEO and Information Architecture
Tuesday, March 11 | 7:00pm