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PA Enterprise

How to clean up your social

media before a job search

The concerns regarding social media safety are ever-present. If it’s so easy
for fraudsters to steal your identity, it follows that recruiters and employers

can sneak a peek into your social lives too with one quick Google search.
However, you can clean up your social media presence ready for your job

search, to ensure you don’t reveal incriminating evidence that may deter
recruiters and potential employers from hiring you. Here’s how...

Google yourself a recruiter or employer can click through to see
The easiest way to determine where you are on everything you’ve been up to. And anyone else in
the internet is to Google yourself incognito. Some the world for that matter!
of the top hits are likely to be Facebook, Twitter, To make your profile private, log in to Facebook,
LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest. click Settings and then Privacy. From the Who can

You’ll probably find that some of the search see my stuff? and Who can look me up? options,
results don’t apply to you. But it’ll let you know you should aim to change everything to Friends.
who else shares your name. This is handy for To further increase your privacy, you don’t want
LinkedIn and making sure you’re ahead of the search engines outside of Facebook to link to
competition. your profile either. So, select No for that option.

The important thing to take away from this is Profile picture and cover photo
how easily you can be found. Plus, how much of Even if your Facebook profile doesn’t show up on
your life the internet can expose from this quick a simple Google search, there’s plenty of social
search. If there are some things you don’t want intelligence that software companies are using.
anyone to see, let alone recruiters, you need to This means they could find your profile no matter
crack down on privatising, hiding and deleting how carefully you’ve been cleaning it up.
your social media presence.
So you need to think ahead. What do you want
Facebook recruiters to see if they find your Facebook for the

Let’s start with Facebook. Most of you are first time? It’s a good idea to re-think your profile
probably on Facebook. And it’s likely to be one picture and cover photo to make sure you give
of the very top results when you Google yourself. a good first impression. You don’t want it to be a
What’s likely to show in the search is [Name] photo of you out on a stag or hen do, or anything
profiles | Facebook. to do with drinking for that matter.

If you follow this link to Facebook and your profile You need something that will create a good first
isn’t on there, congratulations! You must already impression to show that you’re a professional
be pretty savvy with privatising your profile. If looking for a job, not off the rails. We’re not
you do crop up then it’s pretty clear how easily saying it has to be as PC as your LinkedIn photo,

PA Enterprise is published by
4 February/March 2021