Things to avoid doing on social medias when looking for a job

The truth is that we are never alone from the moment we pick up a mobile phone to initiate a share on any social media. At the instant of a click, a share, a piece of information, a photo, is immediately exposed to millions of people.
But if we often don't think of this as a problem, when we are looking for a job we should pay attention to the digital footprint we are leaving behind.
Here are some things to avoid doing on social media when looking for a job.

POSTING INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT

• Information and photos. Although LinkedIn is the most used social network to share professional information, pay attention to the other social networks since they can be seen, intentionally or not, by recruiters. Therefore, it is convenient that these do not contain personal information or images that are compromising or inappropriate.
• Spelling mistakes. Watch out for grammatical mistakes. Since you are trying to get a job, a good knowledge of the language is always an advantage.
• Deactivate accounts you no longer use. Over the years, many social media no longer exist. Deactivate any old accounts that you no longer use. You can even do a Google search with your name to check what comes up. If yours is a common name, it is possible that several people with the same name will show up, but if this is not the case, the search results may return accounts you didn't even remember existed.

CRITICIZING CO-WORKERS OR COMPANIES

Don't complain in public. Speaking in a social media is the same as speaking in public, to millions of people. With the aggravating factor that, in this case, it may be seen by a recruiter responsible for a job that you are applying for. Remember that no recruiter wants to hire a person who might damage the company's online reputation. So, whatever your motives towards your previous employer are, social media will not win your case, and this decision could have a very negative effect on your employability.

SHARING PRIVATE DATA

Never share sensitive data on social media. Most cyber-attacks are the result of someone's negligence. Sensitive data should never be shared on social media, neither yours nor that of companies.Every day we have access to a large amount of information. Whether it is personal information or information regarding companies where we already work. Be aware of information shared on social media. Apart from being damaging to the company in question, any recruiter who finds out that you are sharing sensitive information about a company will not take you for a serious and trustworthy person and this could seriously compromise your recruitment process.

OTHER INFORMATION TO CONSIDER

Apart from taking into consideration what not to do, there are many other things you can, and should do when using social media.

• Use and abuse the privacy settings available on many of the social media;
• Update your professional information;
• Invest in your LinkedIn profile, which is more geared towards those looking to be active in the world of work.
• On Fed Finance Portugal's Linkedin you can access available job vacancies and easily apply for jobs.