Is Your Facebook Profile Stopping You From Getting a Job?

There are 1.2 billion people on Facebook, 550 million on Twitter and 225 million on LinkedIn; some of them are yourselves, some of them are your employers and some, perhaps most importantly, are your future employers. 

A survey conducted by Reppler found that 91% of recruiters and employers now use social media to screen applicants before they ask them to interview; 69% of those admit that they have chosen not to employ someone based on what they've found. With this in mind, it is now more important than ever before to project a professional persona online, particularly when you're looking for a new job.

Source: Reppler

1. Lockdown Your Facebook Profile

When an employer or recruiter searches for you on Facebook, unless you have accepted them as a Friend, they should only be able to see your name and your smiling profile photo. While all the options are available on Facebook to prevent employers you don't know from seeing your full profile, it can be a bit of a challenge trying to find them - until now.

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Click on the cog icon in the top right hand corner and select 'Privacy Settings'. The first and third options you will see are the most important to you. They let you choose who can see anything you will post in the future and everything you have posted in the past. Make sure you enable Friends only for the first option and 'Limit Past Posts' for the third.

How to Use Your LinkedIn Profile to Get a New Job

We'll assume that you are already a member of LinkedIn because your ideal employer most definitely is and you want them to find you when they are looking to fill a new role. But how do you ensure they do that? Follow these tips on how to use your LinkedIn profile to get a new job and you'll stand out to your new employer and their recruiters for all the right reasons.

1. Your photo

This is the first thing that will catch the eye of a prospective employer, so make sure it’s for the right reasons. Employers don’t want to see how adorable your children are, what a great night out you had with your friends, or how fantastic you look in that filtered selfie. They want to see someone they can envision working for their company, so make sure your photo looks professional, friendly and only features you in it.

2.  Your job title

Sounds straight forward enough, right? Wrong. If you only state your job title, an employer won't be able to pick you out from the hundreds of others who have the exact same occupation. By going that little bit further and adding a few words about your speciality in the field, or your industry passion, you’ll stand out from your competition.

For example, you might be an SEO Manager, but what does your role offer a company? For example, why not add – ‘Putting your company in the #1 spot’ after the title? Let a company know what you can do for them and you’ll instantly be a more attractive find.

*Be confident* - If you are in a position where you can be open about looking for a new job, say so in your job title. State what you are looking for in your job title and recruiters will be able to spot you from a mile off!

Debate: Is the Consumer a Regulator of Business Behaviour?

June 2013 saw the launch of RSG Debates, a series of round table dinners held throughout the year, which invite thought leaders to join together to discuss the most topical issues concerning one appointed theme. In June, the spotlight was focussed on the financial services sector and the question of whether business can self regulate. Held at Benares restaurant in Mayfair, London, the dinner was hosted by Nick Hall, Partner at KPMG, and was attended by finance directors and CFO’s from FTSE 100 companies.

The concept of regulation vs. self regulation is vast and it was to be expected that we would gather a varied range of arguments and opinions on the topic, the most interesting (and perhaps most controversial) of which I am going to share with you over the course of my next few blog posts. Don't forget, if you are interested in the financial sector, you can subscribe to the Sanderson Financial posts. To begin this series we will focus on: 

What role does the consumer have to play in bringing about positive change to errant business behaviour? 

Starbucks were used as a relevant example during this particular discussion as they paid £5m in UK corporation tax this year – something they have not done since 2009.

Get to Know Sanderson: Our Regional Director

If you're thinking about selecting Sanderson as your recruitment partner (a great idea, we must say), you'll probably want to know a little bit more about the team. Our new series of Get to Know Sanderson blogs will give you an insight into the great people we employ, how they've achieved their experience and why they're the best people you can choose to help you resolve your resourcing challenges.

Meet Harvey Woods, Regional Director at Sanderson

Where you'll find him:
Heading up the Sanderson Manchester team on King Street

Harvey, give us your CV and experience in a nutshell: 

• I graduated from the University of Salford in '97 with a BSc in Business & Management
• I applied to work as a Resourcer at Computer People
• Building up experience from the bottom, I starting out sourcing candidates for a team of Consultants in the pre-internet era
• 15 years later I was a member of the Board and running just over half of Computer People
• Set my mind on a new challenge in the "corporate" environment and was approached by CBSButler for the role of Sales Director 

What made you want to work at Sanderson:

When you do your due diligence on Sanderson, you quickly realise the sheer scale and scope of what you can achieve there. Sanderson, to me, represents the best foot forward of the staffing industry, a grown up forward thinking environment full of high tenured professional people who are passionate about their company and brand, and their role within it. It’s a company you instantly want to align yourself with for the rest of your career, and I don’t think I can say anything that resonates stronger than that.