Articles From the Team

Social Media – don’t get stung!

Social media can be a blessing – it’s a great way to keep in touch or re-establish contact with old friends and contacts around the world. From a professional perspective, it can assist with business development and promoting your own brand. If not managed properly though it can, in the worst cases, lead to the loss of an opportunity or even a job you’re in.

I’ve had two candidates this month be discounted and removed from a process due to social media and their online profile. One of these clients has also removed staff from their current role as a result of social media content. You may ask the question whether a company/law firm should be interested in your online profile and how this affects your ability to do a job, but at the end of the day they’re the gatekeeper, so if they’re not happy with it you’re not getting in.

I strongly advise that any non-professional social media sites are kept private and are not searchable via google. This is probably good advice even if you’re not searching for a new role at the moment, because even if you believe your profile to be clean, there may be something on there that raises questions about your professionalism – e.g. your friends might think it’s funny to post photos of you at your worst on a night out, but your next/current employer and future/current clients may not.

Conversely, keep your LinkedIn open and up to date – a comprehensive account of what you do and what you are about professionally on LinkedIn can attract new business and clients and promote your current company/law firm. If you’re in the search for a new role, it may also be enough to deter HR and interviewers from digging deeper into your online profile.

For more information contact BCL Legal.