Job Seekers Hub | Hey Grads! Don’t hide your social media profiles

As a fresh grad, landing your first job in the “adult world” is hard.

With little corporate experience and a million options at your fingertips, the job hunt can feel overwhelming, confusing, and downright impossible to start.

As the Graduate Recruitment Manager here at Pulse Recruitment, I meet with a number of fresh grads every day who are up against these challenges. They are struggling to find a “real” job and often feel lost.

Many of the best junior candidates I work with come to these meetings seeking advice after several failed attempts to get an offer.

They have the degree, the personality, and the drive. They tick all the right boxes, yet some of them can’t even get a callback.

Why?

What more could they be doing?

How can they position themselves better in the market?

While there are a number of ways to position yourself as a strong candidate, I give all grads one piece of advice that would likely make every parent cringe:

Don’t hide your social media profiles.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Graduates looking for meaningful employment should not be hiding their social media profiles.

Now before everyone blows up in the comment section, let me explain the benefits of having a strong online presence as a grad on the job market.

Basically, times aren’t changing. They’ve already changed.

As a recruiter, the first thing I do when I’m interested in a candidate is type your name into LinkedIn/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram, you name it, every social media platform.

Regardless of what you’ve been told, I don’t do this because I want to find pictures of you partying on spring break to immediately flag you as un-hireable.

I do this because I want to get to know you.

Organisations are focused on hiring for cultural fit more than ever before and your online presence is an extension of your personality. It is a showcase of how you wish to be seen publicly and can tell the recruiter or employer a lot about you.

I know that you grew up with social media, which means it’s likely that you have a profile or two out there. So if I can’t find you, that makes me think you’re hiding it for a reason.

Not to mention that a lot of employers expect their junior hires to be a breath of fresh air to the business. This includes being social media-savvy and being an advocate for their brand in the digital space!

As a fresh grad, you are the first generation to enter the workplace having grown up with access to the Internet and social media basically from birth.

You are the only generation in the workplace right now who can truly call yourself experts in this area and this expertise gives you an edge over other job hunters.

Don’t throw away that power! Instead of hiding your profiles, use them!

Be active on social media. Put content out there that showcases your creativity and passion. Write blogs, take photos, post tweets. Use your profiles as an extension of your resume.

Build your personal brand online and leverage your social media presence to show employers a side of you that a resume can’t.

As a recruiter, I don’t want to find reasons to reject a candidate, so don’t be afraid to show us your personality, and don’t be worried that all the stuff you posted online when you were young and naïve will sabotage your career.

We get it. We’ve all been there. Most level-headed employers will understand that 18-year-old you is very different from a 24-year-old you.

And if they don’t like what they see online, then they aren’t the right employer for you!

If you’re a recent graduate looking to make the first step in your sales career, email us at admin@pulserecruitment.com.au.