Do Your Social Profiles Belong on Your Resume?
By Adrienne Erin - Writer
Social media is continuously becoming more popular and relevant in society. Twitter, Facebook and other networks are so prevalent that some job-seekers even put them on their resumes. Some applicants feel that by letting potential employers know where to find them on social sites, they're showing they're active in the online community and have nothing to hide.
However, pointing hiring managers to your social media profiles is not necessarily a good idea. Your resume should be as concise and to-the-point as possible, and listing your social media profiles will take up valuable space. Most of our social accounts are also personal, not for business, so putting them on the resume is often irrelevant. There are, of course, some exceptions, particularly if you're in the tech or marketing industries and you'll be using social media over the course of your job.
Here a few reasons why you might consider listing social media profiles on your resume.
Social Media and Internet Marketing Positions
Perhaps the most obvious reason to include social media profiles on your resume is if social media marketing will be one of the primary focuses of your job. If the positions you're looking at are called "Social Media Assistant," "Social Media Manager" or something similar, your knowledge of these sites will play a major role in whether or not you get the job. Social media also plays a big role in many marketing and SEO positions. You may consider putting social profiles on your resume if experience with social media is a prerequisite.
Tech and Digital Media Positions
Pointing potential employers to your social media accounts may also be a good idea if you're applying for certain jobs in the tech or media industries. For example, if you're applying for a job as an app developer or tech support analyst, it will be imperative that you know how to use social media to assist clients.
Certain positions in journalism may also require you to use social media to generate a following and share news in real time. If you follow any of the journalists who tweeted about the poor hotel conditions they experienced in Sochi during the Olympics, you know just how effective Twitter and other social sites can be at sharing news.
If You Curate Resources for Your Industry
You might also share your social media account information with the hiring manager if your profiles demonstrate a strong knowledge of the industry. For example, if you're applying for a position as a graphic artist or photographer, Etsy, Instagram or a similar site may have samples of your work. Similarly, if you're looking for work as a sous chef, you might consider sharing your culinary blog, or the foodie Twitter account that you’ve built up to an impressive following. In these instances, social media can verify and highlight your experience.
The Impact of Social Media on Job Applications
Even if you don't list your social profiles on job applications, you should always prepare for the possibility that a hiring manager will use social media as part of your background check. Remember that you can't rely on Facebook privacy settings to protect you — even if you have strict privacy controls your friends may repost a photo or status without your permission. With that in mind, don't put anything online that an employer might hold against you in the application process. Use common sense and never post things that are illegal or may offend a reasonable person. Bad-mouthing your current employer is also a definite no-no.
It's not as if you have to be prim and proper in everything you post — one typo in a tweet probably won't hurt you even if you're applying for a job as a copy editor. While too much negativity can look bad, it would also seem inauthentic if everything you posted talked about how much you loved the world and everyone in it. Just be aware that whether or not you list your social media accounts on your resume, everything you do online can have an impact on your future.
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We won't just do social media strategies. Social Hire will work collaboratively with your team to ensure your business gets genuine value from us and that your team gets the most out of the service. Our experienced social media managers are motivated to make a enhancements to your social media marketing and reaching targets in a way that realistically makes a difference to your business goals.
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