Social Footprint
Okay we live in a generation and time where social media is all around us. Whether its Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram etc we have an abundance of way to market ourselves.
While we all have a personal life, those photos of your friends tagged you on during that wild night out or those uncensored pictures you may have sneaking around, you might want to have a good look who has access to them. Employers are now using social media to find out further information about future employees.
Yes we know it’s your private life but what’s online can be found online! Clients have informed us that they will search social media platforms to find out if a teacher, middle manager or senior manager is the right person for them. Don't get us wrong we don’t mean for you to go dead private, just be weary what you have online as you never know whose eyes are watching.
If you are unsure what your social footprint is looking like try using Google, Bing, or Yahoo to do various keyword searches and see where you drop up.
Here are some tips to help you with your social branding
Control of your profile
Make sure you are in control of your profile and no one else has access to it. If it falls in to the wrong hands you could be exploited in the wrong way!
Privacy settings
Always check the privacy settings of each social media platform. They all have them now, so be careful what you put up and how visible it is on the internet.
Keep Checking in
It’s wise to check in once in a while and do a crawl for your name and job title. You never know who may have tagged you which become visible on the internet, after all images can go viral right? Aim to keep a clean online presence to build up a positive and professional online image.
Build a Brand
If you do not have any social branding at this stage, we recommend you to get started on the more professional mediums like LinkedIn. To help you with your job search and networking Facebook would be a fantastic tool to join up to.
Before you set out creating profiles, have a good understanding about the way the platform works. Once you have created an effective profile you can also use that as part of your strategy to market yourself.
LinkedIn
For a professional teacher we recommend LinkedIn as your first option. LinkedIn is the number one social media platform for business professionals. Here you will find recruiters and employers advertising their jobs as well as you being able to directly connect with HR managers to help you find the right job. Here are some pointers:
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Complete a full LinkedIn profile
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Promote your qualifications, skills and experience
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You can update the profile at any time
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Get recommendations or testimonials from co colleagues or connections in your network
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Create a teacher network of people that have similar business or professional interests
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You can follow SeekTeachers company profile
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You can join relevant education or teaching groups to help you engage in discussions about jobs, curriculums and up to date information on changes in the international teaching job market
Facebook
Facebook can be a hit or miss platform, depending on how you use this one. It is mainly used to "socialise" and put up images, videos and other media to promote your life history, activities and events in your life. If you are using this in a similar fashion to LinkedIn it would be very powerful in getting a greater reach to more employers. Post content which is about your personal interest that will enhance your professional profile. Any inappropriate photos should hidden or kept with our personal circle of friends please check they are not visible on search engines.
Blogs
Some teachers create online journal by creating a blog and they log their journey as they teach abroad. Sites such as
blogger or
WordPress are free to create and allow you to blog your journey blog. Any new events, qualifications or professional development you do should be commented as well as your journey of going abroad.
At SeekTeachers we want you to get the best from all the methods possible to increase your chances of being marketed.
Register for FREE now to create a SeekTeachers online profile as part of your social branding.
