As a recruiter, you need to make sure any potential candidates are presenting the best version of themselves to prospective employers. One of the ways you can do this is by teaching them about leveraging the power of social media. This not only relates to how they interact on social media but their profiles and the photography they use. Stock photographs and photos in certain social situations can ruin a candidate's chance of securing a job. 

Let’s take a look at some of the critical social media tips that you need to pass onto your candidates…

Clean up your accounts but don’t erase your personality

Your clients are, hopefully, already aware of the fact that they need to clean up their social media accounts. A profile photo of them and a line of ten Tequila shots and a status that complains about their previous boss probably isn’t going to impress any prospective employers. However, this does not mean that your clients should erase their personality altogether. 

There is a big misconception that showing off your character on social media is a problem in itself. This is not the case. While people should not be closed-minded, offensive, and unreasonable, they can show off their interests and their opinions. After all, employers want to make sure someone is the right fit for their company. Your client is more likely to make a good impression by showing the type of person they are than dulling down their profile to the point whereby they could literally be anyone.

Use professional photographs

What someone looks like matters. No, you don’t need to be a supermodel. But you do need to present yourself professionally, especially for your LinkedIn headshot. It is a good idea to get photographs taken professionally. Using the same photographs for all profile photos is also a smart move. This is where Safety Pin comes in. We provide professional headshots that will help job hunters to create the perfect impression on their profiles.

Get SEO savvy

All job hunters today should have a basic understanding of search engine optimisation. When they post online and via social media, it is important to include relevant keywords. This will help candidates’ names to feature on the web whenever people are making relevant industry searches. It helps your clients get noticed.

Be consistent

Finally, branding is all about being consistent, and using social media is all about building a strong personal brand. Candidates need to make sure that their profiles tell a consistent story. If someone is present on both LinkedIn and Twitter, for example, do these profiles match up? Authenticity is key, both professionally and personally. If someone’s social media accounts do not match, prospective employers will start to question who they really are.