Parents and Grads: Here’s the Social Media Conversation You Need to Have

May 31st, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

More and more recruiters and employers are using social networks to screen job candidates. There are plenty of stories about companies rejecting applicants based on their social media profiles.

If you’re the parent of a recent college grad, you may have read these stories and thought of trying to have a chat about reputation with your kid. But what would you say? How would you put it in the language of social media? Here are some tips you can share about getting ready for the job market. Grads, listen up.

Investigate Yourself

Take inventory of what can be found online about you. As job search site Monster suggests, just Google yourself and see what comes back. (It’s a basic tip, but one that a surprising number of Facebook-oriented twentysomethings simply forget to do.)
Speaking of Facebook, be honest — is your profile filled with pictures from dorm parties from freshman year and other things you wouldn’t want a future employer to see? Time to master those Facebook privacy settings you always meant to check out.
Peruse your profile and mark items as private, or untag yourself in pictures you don’t want to be seen in.
Remove others’ ability to tag you in photos. In fact, you can review posts and photos you’re tagged in before they get posted to your Timeline by selecting that option in your privacy settings.
Sign up for Google Alerts so you know when something new has been posted about you online.
Quit Facebook groups that would look bad to an employer. Sorry, Thirsty Thursday Drinking Buddies. And watch what you post moving forward. Sport and games are fine; colorful opinions that might be read the wrong way are another.

Bury the Bad

One way to get rid of the things you’re not so proud of is to create new, positive content that appears in search results. Sign up for Google+, LinkedIn if you’re not already and create a professional profile.

Here’s a great guide to getting started. Sites such as BrandYourself will also help you do this.

Create Positive Profiles

Used correctly, Facebook is an amazing tool for any job seeker.

We asked Miriam Salpeter, author of “Social Networking for Career Success” for her tips on building a positive online reputation. Here’s what she offered:

Allow “everyone” to view your Work and Education, About You, and your contact info. This makes it easier for people to find you if they are looking on Facebook.
Find, visit, and “like” Facebook fan pages for any company that interests you. Interact there. The companies you want to work for are building “careers” pages, too. Join their communities. Ask good questions.
Use Facebook updates to show what you know. You likely don’t have a whole lot of work experience, but research your field online and share links to articles in your status updates. Start sharing ideas. Your contacts will begin to think of you as a go-to resource on that topic, and will think of you if they learn about jobs.

Investigate Facebook Applications

Finally, try these Facebook applications. BranchOut, BeKnown, Jibe.com, SimplyHired.com’s Facebook tool, and Glassdoor.com’s In The Door connect you with potential opportunities.

These tools tell you who you’re trying to impress, basically. They reveal who in your Facebook network is connected to companies you’d like to work for.

Then there’s JackalopeJobs, a platform that allows you to login with your favorite social network and see if you have contacts there.

And of course, there’s LinkedIn, which every grad in today’s job market should consider joining. Yes, it’s no Facebook when it comes to fun, but it is more effective (and far more widely used) when it comes to business introductions.

So, parents: along with the sigh of relief you get when you see your college student receiving that diploma, remember that you can still open a few doors for them. Even if it means joining up and making a few LinkedIn introductions yourself.

Have you talked to your kids about how they use social media? Got advice for recent grads? Let us know in the comments.

Images courtesy of Flickr, NazarethCollege; iStockphoto, fazon1, mkurtbas

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Few oppose the anti-Australia tax furore

How To Naturally Deter Insects With Herbs Instead of Chemicals

German Weapons and Warmongering in the Middle East

Facebook Shares Hit New Low Falling Below $30

EU privacy chief warns of internet spying threat

Silicon Valley entrepreneur lived at AOL office