COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The pandemic has put a major strain on the job market this year, but in the Pikes Peak region, job opportunities are starting to come back.
KOAA spoke with employment experts who say if you're looking to land a job you'll want to be careful with your social media profiles.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. These are just some of the social media platforms employers are looking at to try to find out more about you during your job search. Employment experts say what you choose to do on these platforms can either help you or hurt you.
"Companies are going to Google you. They are going to look at you. They're going to Facebook stalk you, or they're going to look at Twitter accounts. They're going to look at Instagram if they can get in," said Pikes Peak Workforce Center Executive Director and CEO Traci Marques. "Obviously LinkedIn is a great platform to be on the professional side, but at the same time you really have to be careful with your social media."
The experts say the first step in understanding what employers are seeing is to do the search yourself.
"Google yourself. If someone is going to Google you Google yourself so you know what's out there," said Marques "Lockdown your social media. Make sure everything is private so that you don't have people that could social media stalk you to get information on you for the job."
Once you're comfortable with what the public can see on your digital platforms, employment experts urge job seekers to keep profiles and resume updated for the jobs they want.
"That's going to show the employer, one, the skillset that you have that relates to this position and also that you took the time to research it and change it to adapt to their company," said Marques.
Here's your Rebound Rundown:
- Be aware that employers will likely search for you and browse your social media as part of the hiring process
- Search your own name and profiles to see what employers are seeing
- Lockdown profiles and manage privacy settings
- Keep your resume and professional profiles updated and specific to the jobs you desire.
If you need help taking steps to prepare yourself for your next job opportunity, want to talk with experts, or need find other employment resources you can visit the Pikes Peak Workforce Center.
This story was first reported by Patrick Nelson at KOAA in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
