Balancing a job search with the social media dichotomy

The world of job hunting amounts to a sneaky balancing act. There exist a number of jobseekers who proudly announce, “I do not believe in social media,” as if it were integrated into one’s belief system. Social media is, of course, a reality, and not subject to debate like UFOs or Greek mythology.

Below superficial beliefs, there exists an ongoing dichotomy. Some people just do not want to be found. Job hunters, however, do not have the luxury of having it both ways. When you are job hunting, you want employers to find you: You just don’t want your employer finding out. That’s the dichotomy.

How does one put him/herself out there on the job market without attracting unwanted attention?

A plethora of social media is available just for the asking. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn rank among the more popular. I often caution clients not to Tweet or respond to Tweets while in job-search mode. Your oh-so clever Tweets may not be viewed in the context you intended.

Facebook has its own set of drawbacks. It was intended as a social connection tool for close friends and relatives. Today, Facebook has mushroomed into a cacophony of friends of strangers and shirttail relatives for which you may be clueless as to who they are. Your reputation can be tarnished by their indiscreet actions (postings)—regarded as guilt through association.

If you have a Facebook account, and you are an active jobseeker, it is time to limit your exposure. From the top navigation bar where your name appears, toward the right of that line you will find the image of a padlock. Pressing the padlock opens the dropdown menu. The first option: Who can see my stuff? It is time for jobseekers to adjust that access, or suspend that account. At the minimum, remove questionable posts and photos, including references to your political and religious preferences.

LinkedIn is different. Every serious jobseeker needs to have a publicly visible account. The lack of an account raises more questions than having this footprint. The two biggest dangers are alerting your employer and having an account that materially conflicts with other information. If your LinkedIn page says one thing and your résumé or credit history states otherwise, that amounts to a serious red flag discrepancy.

Updating and perfecting your LinkedIn account while gainfully employed represents an ongoing hazard. Each time you adjust your information, LinkedIn assumes you want the world to know what you’re up to. To avoid tipping off your employer that you are actively on the job market, simply turn off the network notification feature.

This easy fix is often overlooked by novice LinkedIn users. To turn-off having LinkedIn announcing your every update, sign in to the account. To the right of Home on the navigation line is Profile. Use the dropdown feature and select Edit Profile. Toward the bottom right corner of the Edit page you will see, Notify your network. If Yes appears, switch it to No.

For jobseekers to assume they are not leaving a social footprint amounts to extreme naiveté. Fear over Big Brother prying into their lives pales in comparison to what Corporate America can accomplish. They have easy access to credit information, court documents and proceedings, voting info, medical records and driving history. If they need to know more, that too is available.

While we pretend to live in a participatory democracy, it is merely an illusion, masquerading as a false truth. (How is that for doublespeak?) Today, we live in a well-represented plutocracy. Like those who don’t believe in social media, it is reality whether we openly admit it or not. 

Copyrighted (c) 2015 by Robert James

Executive Job Seekers Beware

Occasionally, a job-seeking high roller will need résumé help. This week, two contacted me, both with executive-level positions in mind. While their occupations were different, each individual is employed with billion-dollar global corporations.

Job seekers at this level need to exercise a level of due diligence. Those employed at these upper levels cannot jump into shark-infested waters and start splashing about screaming for help. When they do, they will surely attract attention, but not necessarily the type they want or need.

For most job seekers—especially if unemployed, announcing to the world your availably is no big deal. You can list your most recent employer and flaunt yourself. If, however, you actively hold a sensitive position with a major corporation, that would not be prudent.

The employment waters at the deep end of the pool hold many dangers. One of those dangers involves the distribution of the résumé. Should that item fall into the wrong hands, and you shamelessly expose yourself in public, do not be too surprised to discover the next advertised job announcement you apply for might be your own.

Not all headhunters are ruthless, but a sufficient number are to warrant extra caution. Tell the wrong body snatcher you are available, and you have just informed that individual where his next meal ticket is located. Worse yet, the recruiter may be on a first-name basis with your Director or VP of HR!

There are two additional dangers that need to be addressed. One of them is your résumé. If you identify your employer by name in your résumé, you run the risk of shooting yourself. Knowing how to camouflage pieces of information discretely can pose a challenge. (Note: For those with mid-level and lower positions, this is a less important issue. You still need to take a few minimal precautions.)

The second item to adjust and modify are your social networking accounts such as Facebook and LinkedIn. As long as you are not actively seeking new employment, there is nothing to worry about. That all changes the instant you start transmitting résumés. You may want to suspend your Facebook account while actively seeking employment.

My clients are cautioned not to post anything on their social media accounts that conflicts with their résumé. Once your résumé is prepared—professionally or otherwise, immediately and discretely go back and adjust those accounts. You need to address who the employer is indirectly, as well as the specific city location. Usually, mentioning the region of the country will suffice.

Concealing the employer’s name and location is not a major turn-off as many may suspect. Most employers are perceptive enough to know that senior-level management needs to be both discrete and cautious. When you fail to take these cautionary measures, that too sends an unintended message.

If you would like additional job-related issues addressed, feel free to send them to rjames279@gmail.com.

Your Profile on LinkedIn

First a quick true story, followed by a few LinkedIn recommendations.

A guy—we’ll call, Tom—schedules an afterhours appointment to have his résumé created. During the appointment, I discover that Tom has been with the same employer for 20 years, and that he has no clue about conducting a job search. In terms of seeking new employment, he is stuck in the 1990s.

That aside, Tom is an employment mensch! He possesses a trove of highly technical, stationary engineering skills that will require his current employer to hire no less than three people to replace him. Even at that, those new hires won’t have the depth of technical knowledge and expansive specialized training Tom has acquired.

While there is zero chance of Tom being terminated, he is functioning in job-panic mode. He is scared some mindless HR person will call his employer, seeking an employment reference. Tom’s fears are not unfounded. Apparently, his employer values loyalty over competency.

Convincing Tom to create a LinkedIn account would be fruitless. If he did, however, Tom’s applied technical skills and knowledge of industrial equipment, piping systems, schematics and complex building automation systems (BAS), EPA, DOT and OSHA would take an employer’s breath away. And these are only the highlights!

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If you have an employment situation that remotely mirrors Tom’s situation, you may need to rethink how job searches are conducted in our post-modern world. We are totally integrated into the info-age. Your privacy is merely an illusion. Raise that privacy-illusion tenfold if you possess a driver’s license, credit cards and any type of bank account.

Those not in Tom’s situation, but less worried about others finding out, need to spruce up their LinkedIn account. If you don’t have one, it is easy to create. A basic account only requires your name, an email address, where you work and what you do.

Once you move beyond those basics, things become more invasive and sticky. Completing an in-depth profile often poses a challenge—especially for the passive job seekers. (Passive job seekers are defined as available and interested in new employment, but not actively seeking employment for various reasons.)

To achieve a completed profile on LinkedIn, you need to rank in the 95%-plus range. This requires the user to furnish information on eight sections: 1) Your current position/employment status, 2) two previous positions, 3) education, 4) a profile summary, 5) a presentable headshot photo, 6) your special skills and talents, 7) three written recommendations, and 8) an uploaded current résumé (preferably in pdf).

The more info you share, the better your odds a potential employer will notice you. A well-structured, completed profile ranks high on LinkedIn’s search algorithm, which appear to be using Google logic. Without going into a technical dissertation on the various aspects of artificial intelligence, let it suffice that a carefully crafted profile will get you noticed.

Naturally, if you have a well-written, professional résumé, you have the option of cherry picking the skills, talents and disciplines you desire to showcase. Unfortunately, this is where many job seekers incur a self-inflicted injury.

Initially, the two most important parts in your LinkedIn profile is your photo and how you describe yourself in the headline. This is tantamount to the image you project when you first walk through the employment door. In the quest to get noticed, and taken seriously, job seekers often resort to pushing the boundaries.

According to LinkedIn insiders, the most overused words and phrases appearing in the Profile Summary and Headline sections are: Innovative, motivated, extensive experience, dynamic, proven track record, team player, fast-paced, results oriented, problem solver and entrepreneurial.

Now that you know what insiders know, it is time to apply that knowledge.

A strong LinkedIn profile can ignite your job search

A lot has changed since 2010, or if you prefer—since the good old days. If you have not changed jobs recently, you may be laboring under the impression you can successfully change positions the old fashion way. If you are seeking employment with a Fortune 1000 company, the old playbook probably will not work.

Here are a few things to consider. Virtually all the Fortune 500 companies are on LinkedIn. Those employers are using it to prescreen, vent and recruit today’s available talent. LinkedIn is highly integrated with Google. If your job-seeking materials, profile and contact information is not readily accessible and Google friendly, plan to encounter greater difficulty.

LinkedIn currently has more than 120 million subscribers. While not every one of those individuals is using it to actively seek employment or recruit, this is its primary function. With each passing day, it becomes more so.

Users with better profiles are ten times more likely to attract the attention of potential employers than those with weak material. Knowing what to include, coupled with a concise résumé boosts your odds. Having a presentable head-shot dramatically increases your visibility and enhances your appeal.

The three biggest benefits in having an active, up-to-date LinkedIn account are 1) its jobs board lets you see who is hiring, 2) you have access to co-workers who can provide invaluable insight, and 3) LinkedIn provides easy-to-use apps for conducting a job search.

A well-structured presentation on LinkedIn separates you from the crowds. Naturally, Confidential Résumé Writing wants its clients to succeed. All past and present clients should consider scheduling an appointment to review their LinkedIn profile so that they can shift their job search into a higher gear.