Help your kids get ahead of their online persona and turn social media into a tool to land that dream job with these interview preparation tips for grads.
Google Thyself
It may sound a bit narcissistic, but if a potential employer is going to do it, you should too. It can be surprising to find entries tied to your name at such a young age, but as data is cataloged and stored these days just about everyone has a few entries. Whether it’s the time Jane got her name in the paper for winning the town spelling bee, or the time she was involved in a DUI, nothing dies on the Internet. If knowledge is power, make sure you know what anyone with a WiFi connection can find out about you in a few clicks. Better yet, sign up for Google Alerts so that you’re notified when something new about you hits the web.
Build Your Own Buzz
If there’s not a lot of noteworthy news about you on the web, or worse, there’s something you wish was hidden a bit further down in the search results, consider establishing a positive online profile. Sign up for LinkedIn, a professional networking site, and complete your profile with as much detail as you can muster. Potential employers utilizing advanced search to screen potential candidates want to know if you can make magic in Photoshop. It won’t take that long to create a free profile and it will allow your online resume to join the rest of the information swimming about the Web. This is one search result you can manage, so make it glow.
Present Yourself Professionally
Social Media can be so much more than just a forum to post your picks for the next American Idol. If there’s a field you’re looking to get a foothold in, join online communities. Post thoughtful commentary. And for goodness sake, use proper grammar. Just about any job hunter is going to want you to be capable of writing to a client, customer or co-worker at some point. If your posts are rife with incorrect word use and punctuation errors, it will be hard for them to see you as a solid representative of their company.
Network… Socially
Many companies maintain a presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, even Twitter. Find the fan pages for the companies that you’d like to work for one day, “like” the page and contribute to discussions. Glean what you can about the people in key positions to hire into the job you covet. Before you check your newsfeed for the photos from last night’s party, check out the job finding resources available through Facebook. From BranchOut to SimplyHired, there are a bevy of job hunting tools that link with your social self.
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