Social Connections Check

If your goal is career orientated, you will need to get your social connections in line. This does not mean delete crazy photos or bleach your online personality, it just means be conscious of what you are putting out there.

It’s important to not take this to an extreme. Make sure you are still being you on your professional accounts. Your future boss wants to hire a person not a robot. Be professional and personable. If they don’t like something you say, you probably don’t want to work for them in the first place.

I’m going to do separate posts on tips for Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and blogging, but here are some general tips on getting your social life in shape:

• Create a professional name for yourself – I use my first name, middle initial, last name as my professional handle – Dawn A. Crawford. (Granted, even I’m not consistent with this one since my professional Twitter feed is under that handle and my professional Twitter is actually @SocMediaRckStr. Oh well, we can’t be perfect). Having a consistent way of identifying your professional accounts and resumes will increase your SEO and make you easier to find by employers.
• Add a professional photo – Make sure it’s a very attractive, professional, CURRENT photo of you. It will help put a face to your name.
• Google yourself - It’s not vanity, it’s essential. Make sure no crazy stuff pops up with your name. If it does, bring it to your personal networks.
• Grab your Google profile – You can make a free Google Profile about yourself – great for SEO. This just makes sure that people find the real you.
• Open up your professional accounts – If you are choosing to have a professional and personal accounts, open up your professional ones so people can see those more easily. People are curious, so if you bait them with a more open account they will gravitate to this account rather than dig any further.
• Lock down your personal accounts – Lock down your personal accounts to only people who can help you achieve your goal. Unfriend and block people to keep your innermost circle free of people who can negatively impact your goal. By doing this you can use your personal accounts for venting and blowing off steam without recourse.
• Connect your professional ecosystem – Add your Twitter and Facebook to your LinkedIn and blog. Connect your Facebook to your Twitter. Creating an ecosystem for your professional connections will keep people looking at the content you want them to see rather than digging for personal pages.
• Consider starting a blog – Creating a blog about your career interest can help set you apart as an influential. It can be in many forms – written, photos, video, reviews – just adding professional content about your interests is helpful in solidifying your expertise in an area.

Having a social presence is essential for anyone who wants to live the networked life. It makes it easy for people to find you when they have new opportunities for you.

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