Insights

When you’re preparing for an interview, you should spend some time researching your potential new employer online beforehand; looking at their website and social media. Employers do exactly the same thing – 93% of employers say they search for candidates’ social media profiles during the recruitment process. If you’re applying for a property job you’re perfectly suited for, and do really well at interview, an employer could still be put off if they see something they don’t like on social media.

Spending some time cleaning up your online profile and improving your personal branding before you start looking for a new job can make the whole process go more smoothly. Not only will this ensure that interviewers only see the best, most professional side of you, but it’s also a great chance to impress them with your professional experience, knowledge and insight.

Here are CPR’s top tips for cleaning up your online profile:

Check your current status

Before you can start polishing up your online persona, you need to know what state it’s currently in. Start by googling yourself and see what results come up – don’t forget to check image search results as well. Are the links shown something you’d like potential employers to see?

Most social media platforms allow you to see what your profile looks like to other users, depending on whether they are connected to you or not. On LinkedIn, you can find this under Settings & Privacy.

Manage your social media

Make a list of all of your social media profiles and split them up into personal or professional accounts. Clearly dividing them up this way will ensure that you don’t post content that is inappropriate for that audience.

Usually, platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat are best for keeping in touch with friends and family, while LinkedIn and Twitter are more suitable for building your professional profile. Use the privacy settings for these tools to ensure that only the relevant audience can see your profile and what you’re posting.

It’s always best to use your personal email address for job hunting, so make sure it’s appropriate and not something like partyguy@gmail.com.

Work on your LinkedIn profile

LinkedIn is effectively your online CV and it’s worth spending some time to make sure you look good – it could even lead to employers approaching you!

• Make sure you have a profile photo and that it’s a professional headshot - LinkedIn members with a photo get x21 more profile views and x9 more connection requests.
• You can personalise your profile’s URL so it reads www.linkedin.com/in/yourname, rather than the default string of numbers.
• Change your headline so it’s not just your current job title and employer. Ideally you want to communicate what you do and why you’re unique.
• Make sure the employment history and dates on your LinkedIn profile matches those on your CV – employers will be quick to spot any discrepancies and make take a genuine mistake as an attempt to deliberately mislead.
• Send connection requests to any professional contacts shortly after you meet them, with a short note reminding them where you met. The more relevant connections you have, the greater your network will be and the more exposure you’ll have to potential employers.
• Add any other professional social media accounts or websites to your LinkedIn account.
• Regularly like and share posts from your connections and post your own messages if you have something to say. This will show you are engaged and interested in your sector.

Run regular maintenance



Social media platforms and websites are constantly evolving and change their privacy settings every so often, so don’t forget to go back and recheck them, at least annually.

If your connections post personal information or pictures of you that you would not want a potential employer to see, ask them to hide them from public view or take them down.

Try and like, share and post content on your professional profiles regularly.

When you’re ready to look for a new property job in London, CPR can help. Get in touch with our friendly and helpful recruitment team on 020 7435 0309 or info@cpr.jobs.