Three things are occurring with social media that are having an affect on your career transition.

# 1 – Social media is rapidly growing and an integral part of our society. This can not be disputed or ignored. Therefore, you need to learn how to use these tools during career transition.

#2 – Recruiters and business professionals use these tools every day. You can pretend that what you do on social media will not be used by businesses and recruiters, or you can embrace social media as career transition tools and take full advantage of them.

#3 – Social media applications rapidly change. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram make changes frequently. You need to stay aware of the changes and learn the new features.

Regardless of which social media sites you use you must manage them and learn how to use them properly. Here are a few tips that can help you create value during your career transition and beyond.

Tip # 1 – Adopt this edict: “Never do, say or engage on social media, in a way you don’t want to be seen, heard or perceived in life.” This applies to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube as well as LinkedIn. Ask this question each time you post anything, “How will this post, video, comment or share affect my chances of getting a job?” Since social media is used for all areas of life (family/friends, community, career/business) your social media activity will be very diverse. It needs to always be positive, friendly and social. Recruiters want to hire people they can like, trust and respect.

Tip # 2 – Assume that what you post on social media can be seen by everyone. Yes, there are privacy settings that can help you control who sees your post; however, unless you know the privacy settings of Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, Vine, etc, your online content could be accessible by recruiters. Embrace the potential of your content being viewed and take advantage of social media to present yourself as a “top shelf” candidate.

Tip # 3 – Because of the rapid changes in the social media applications you need to stay aware of the changes and take advantage of new features. Use the new features available in LinkedIn to make your profile more discoverable, connect with people who are relevant to you in many ways and share/engage on content that is relevant to your career or business. Learn how to do this from the many resources available.

Tip # 3 – Social media is not for airing your “dirty laundry.” Be positive, friendly and sociable online and increase the possibility that a recruiter will like, trust and respect you enough to move you forward in the hiring process. Enough said.

Tip # 4 – Make your social media activity public. Don’t hide anything. If you want to hide something you posted on social media, remove it or never post it. Going 100% public on social media can be a great benefit for your career transition and beyond.

Embrace social media as an integral part of society and use it to present, connect and engage for life, community, career and business. Learn to do this correctly and you’ll be far more successful.

How has your social media profile and content helped you in your career transition?

If you need help with this area of your career transition journey, let me help you with my Career Transition Program or my Quick Start Career Transition Program.