tips on personal branding in Social Networks

Here are some tips by Randy Ingbritsen, from Workforce Solutions at Penn State University:


Social networking and Web 2.0 technologies can impact a job search in both positive and negative ways and, in today’s job market, it’s important to make sure Facebook and other tools are not working against you.

To tweak your social network:
Change the privacy settings on your Facebook profile. The default settings aren’t very private — anyone in your networks can see anything you do unless you make parts of your profile available to only your friends.

Review all photos and videos that others have tagged of you on Facebook and remove tags from any that you wouldn’t want a recruiter or potential employer to see.
Review comments that friends have left on your Facebook profile and remove anything that you feel is unprofessional.

If you don’t want a certain person or people (recruiters, co-workers, etc.) to see any part of your Facebook profile, you can exclude them completely.

You can also create two separate profiles, one with your personal information and one for professional use. LinkedIn is another option for creating a professional social networking presence.

Google your name with and without quotation marks. Work to remove any inappropriate content if possible by contacting the authors or Web site administrators.

If you have a blog, Twitter account, or any other public social media presence, be aware that employers and co-workers may be reading it.

To build your personal brand:
Harness your “essence” — Who are you? How do you want others to remember you? What do you want to be known as an expert in? How can you set yourself apart from others? All of these are important questions to ask yourself when determining your brand.

Once you have these ideas in place, work on packaging them in a clear, concise statement that will make you memorable when speaking with recruiters and potential employers.