Should You Put Your Vaccination Status on Your Resume or LinkedIn?

October 18, 2021April 5, 2022

Many workplaces are changing hiring policies in order to comply with new state and federal regulations about the COVID-19 vaccine. According to job search site indeed.com, data shows that job postings requiring vaccinations increased by 242% from August to September 2021. The outcome of other recent surveys point into a similar direction: one third of hiring managers in one survey said they would eliminate candidates that are not fully vaccinated against COVID. With that in mind, could being fully vaccinated – and advertising that fact on your resume – give you a leg up over other candidates?

a simple question with a complex answer

So, should you be upfront about your vaccinations status and include it on your resume and/or LinkedIn profile? As with so many issues in the job search orbit – it depends. It will depend on your industry, on your role, and on your location. Some industries have stricter vaccination rules, such as healthcare and education. Jobs that work closely with many people, e.g. nurse, physician, or teacher might be more inclined towards vaccine mandates. And some states and municipalities have stricter vaccine mandates and rules than others.

Because conditions differ so much across the country and between industries, our number one recommendation is: do careful research into your potential employer.

Putting your “fully vaccinated” status on your resume would be advantageous if:

You know that your potential employer requires it and/or the job add specifies that vaccine status needs to be included on the application
The city or parish/county the employer is located in has a vaccine mandate
Through careful research (by talking to current employees, following local media and social media) you have gleaned that the potential employer is generally pro vaccine
The potential job involves a lot of travel (as being vaccinated makes travel easier)
You want to work for an employer that has mostly vaccinated employees

Not putting your vaccine status on your resume would be advantageous if:

You are unsure of the potential employer’s stance on the COVID 19 vaccine
Through careful research (by talking to current employees, following local media and social media) you have gleaned that the potential employer tends to lean against vaccine requirements
You are not planning to apply at companies that would require or favor vaccinations anyway

What about Linkedin?

Putting your vaccination status on LinkedIn differs from putting it on the resume in so far that you can tailor the resume for each employer. But if you add #fullyvaccinated on your LinkedIn profile it is out there for any employer to see, regardless how they lean on the issue.

Advertising vaccine status on resume or LinkedIn profile can be advantageous and give you an edge in recruiting, or it can achieve the opposite. This is a tricky topic that warrants careful research and consideration of your own as well as your potential employer’s attitudes toward the COVID 19 vaccine.

Written by Anne Nowak

Social Media Etiquette for Job-Seekers

March 15, 2021December 7, 2020

Most of us regularly use social media of some sort, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or LinkedIn. We use these platforms to maintain our connections with friends, keep up with news and local events, and express our ideas and emotions. Yet there’s a hidden danger for jobseekers – your social media image could be making you look unprofessional and sabotaging your employment chances.

employers check social media. . .

Employers want to get as much information as possible before hiring someone, so that they can feel confident they’re making the right choice. Thus, many employers make it a practice to look up candidates online. If they don’t like what they see, they may reject the candidate.

. . .so you should too.

Google yourself, and look yourself up on every social media platform that you use. Use a computer that is not logged into your profile (such as a computer at the library), so that you see what an outsider will see when they look you up online. Make note of what is visible, in terms of your accounts, photos, posts, and comments. Approach it as if you were reading about a stranger – what kind of image do you project? Do you seem like a good potential employee (hard-working, reliable, caring, etc.)? Or do you seem unprofessional, bitter, or high-maintenance?

avoid these common mistakes:

Inappropriate or risqué pictures, such as images that include alcohol, drugs, people under the influence, scantily-clad people, or high-risk behavior. Anything that makes you look like the life of the party is probably a bad idea – hiring managers don’t want to hire the life of the party; they want to hire responsible professionals.
Unprofessional or negative posts. Social media is so public that it’s not a safe place to vent about your struggles. For examples, see these real tweets that have cost people job opportunities: “I hate my boss. Take this job and shove it.” “Unemployment isn’t so bad. It will be hard going back to work.” “Sexual harassment rules are so dumb.” “Oh please, everybody lies on their resume.”
Controversial topics, such as politics or religion, can be risky. Keep in mind, hiring managers may have different beliefs from you. If that’s true – and you’re very vocal online about your beliefs – the hiring manager may decide they don’t want to work with someone they won’t get along with. We are not saying you CAN’T express your beliefs – if it’s very important to you, you may decide that it’s worth the risk. But be aware that your self-expression may be negatively impacting your job search.

how do i fix my online image?

Un-tag yourself from unflattering photos.
Delete irresponsible tweets/posts.
Tighten your privacy settings so that strangers cannot see most of your information.
Some people even use a false name for personal accounts, so that no one except their contacts can see any of their information.
Caveat: Even with those precautions, be careful what you post. If someone takes a screenshot of something you post, that can be public and permanent.

what if i have no social media presence at all?

You may decide that the best way to keep a clean image is to avoid the temptation of social media entirely. That may or may not be a good idea, depending on your situation.

For a job in which you will never need to know how to use social media (such as nurse, truck driver, or prep cook), it’s probably fine to have no online presence.
For a job that requires you to be tech-savvy (such as IT professional, graphic designer, or librarian), it will look weird to employers if you don’t seem to have any knowledge of or experience with social media technology.
For a job that involves sales, promotion, or community outreach (such as marketing specialist or fundraising director), you need to showcase your comfort with using social media to reach people.
If you’re in the corporate world, you need to have a LinkedIn account, or you will not be taken seriously. Your LinkedIn account should focus entirely on your professional life, not your personal life.
When used correctly, social media can help your job search. Both LinkedIn and Facebook have job search functions built in. Additionally, all social media platforms can be used for networking, which can lead you to job openings you’d never know about otherwise. Also, social media can be a great place to build your personal brand and make yourself look attractive to employers.

If you have further questions about this topic, or if you’d like our help improving your social media image, give us a call at 225-231-3733.

Written by Lynnette Lee

The Seven Deadly Sins of Job Searching, Part 4

January 24, 2019April 5, 2022

This is the fourth post in a series of posts about the most common and damaging mistakes jobseekers make. Read the full series here.

4th deadly sin: an unmanaged and unmonitored social media presence

If you followed the advice of our blog posts about the first three deadly sins of job searching, you now know what you want and what you can contribute, you have a networking strategy in place, and you have a well-written resume. Great, well done! You are ready to get the word out to your network and to recruiters that you are on the market. Yet despite good qualifications, you get no leads or interviews.

Have you monitored your social media presence lately?
Is your social media presence holding you back? You want to be on social media while job searching! Social media platforms can be of tremendous help in finding a job. But your presence can also cost you the job if not managed carefully. The vast majority of recruiters and/or hiring manager will check you out on the internet!

LinkedIn: If you are in a professional career, you need a LinkedIn profile. The profile needs to be complete, including a professional picture. All LinkedIn content needs to be professional; this is not the place for your vacation pics or party exploits. For more information on LinkedIn see our previous post.
Facebook: If you use Facebook exclusively for private non-professional content, make sure to lock it down and set your privacy settings to the most restrictive settings possible. Don’t let anybody tag you in pictures; don’t let anybody post anything to your timeline. Delete old profile pics. Don’t post incriminating pictures, and be careful about what you post or articles you share or like. Beware of public groups. Despite all these potential negatives, Facebook can be a good networking tool.
Twitter: Twitter is inherently public. So adjust your strategy while job searching. If you follow any divisive or questionable groups or organizations, drop them while you are on the search. Also refrain from commenting on, posting, or retweeting such content. Do not share or retweet incriminating pictures of any kind. Do use Twitter to follow, comment on, engage in and retweet content that is highly relevant to the job you are looking for.
Instagram: Again, beware of the pictures you post, what you like and comment on. Do use Instagram to post pictures, follow, and engage in content and organizations that support your job search and show your interest in the subject matter.

Personal Branding
Ideally you want to use all your social media accounts for a branding campaign. You know what kind of job you are looking for and you know the kinds of organizations you’d most like to work with. Now you can utilize social media to learn as much as possible about these organizations and engage with them. Follow their social media presence, engage with and comment on their posts, post relevant content on your own feeds, and use targeted hashtags. If you do this well, maybe your next job will find you.

If you need assistance in creating LinkedIn profiles or learning about social media for the job search, call the Career Center at 225-231-3733.

Stay tuned for the next deadly sin of job search.

Written by Anne Nowak

Job Searching with Facebook

November 1, 2018March 30, 2021

If you’re a savvy job-seeker, you already know that social media is a crucial job search tool – for establishing your personal brand, expanding your network, and discovering the hidden job market. But what you may not know is, there is a new tool you can add to your social media job search toolkit. Facebook has recently launched Facebook Jobs, an app which allows you to find and apply for jobs directly through Facebook.

How to use facebook jobs

Once you log into your personal Facebook page, the Jobs tool is visible on the left sidebar under “Explore.”

Click on the Jobs tab and you will see:

the Location that determines which job openings are shown
a list of Job-Type boxes so you can narrow down the search by Full-Time, Part-Time, Internship, and so on
a list of Industry boxes so you can narrow down what types of jobs interest you
a Search jobs field if you would like to search for jobs with certain key terms

Depending on what search terms you use, you will see “posts” for job openings in your Location area, Industry, and Job Type. If you see a position that interests you have the option to click on Apply Now – but you might not want to.

One Major caveat

The Facebook Jobs tool has one great advantage, which is that it makes it very easy and convenient for you to look for a variety of jobs at once. Much like aggregate job posting sites such as Indeed, it’s a time-saving one-stop shop for job searchers. But once you find a job you’d like to apply for, we recommend that you do not actually apply for the job through Facebook itself (unless that is the only option). We strongly recommend that you go to the company’s official website and apply there instead.

We have two major reasons for this recommendation. First, many people see Facebook as a place of play, not a place of business. Submitting your application that way may cause you to be taken less seriously, especially if the application links directly to your personal Facebook page – which is probably much less polished and professional-looking than your resume or LinkedIn profile. Second, there is always a risk that you will be sharing your information with a suspicious source. There are a lot of scam artists who lure in victims with fake job offers, and Facebook may not be able to thoroughly vet them all. Thus, the company’s official website is the safer bet.

Applying for a job through facebook

Again, we recommend that you don’t do this, and use the company’s official website instead. However, sometimes that’s not an option. If the job can only be applied for on Facebook (and you’re certain that it’s legitimate), click “Apply Now” on the job posting. This opens up a rudimentary job application form where you can provide contact information, education, and experience. There is also an option to be notified by that organization about other job openings.

Advertising a job through facebook

If you run a small business with a corporate Facebook page, you can use the Facebook Jobs tool to advertise your job openings. This may be a good way to expand your pool of applicants, because far more people will see your openings here than on your company website. Once you log into your corporate page, there is a button for Publish a job post.

That opens a form on which the organization can post the open position with places to add information about Job Title, Location, Salary, Job Type, Details, Additional Questions, and a Photo if desired (such as a business or company logo).

Overall impression

Whether the Facebook Jobs tool is useful to you will depend on your needs and circumstances. If you have highly specialized skills, or if you are only interested in a handful of companies, this tool may not help you find what you’re looking for. If, however, you’re not completely sure what you want or where to find it, this tool can be a great way to look at a large variety of local job listings with a minimum of fuss. We saw lots of openings for retail, food service, caregiver, and labor positions, but there’s a little of everything and a few off-the-wall postings you’d have trouble finding elsewhere. In general, we think it’s a good tool to help both companies and job-seekers.

Written by Richard Wright and Lynnette Lee

Cool Careers in Social Media

September 6, 2018March 30, 2021

Recently the Career Center hosted two guest speakers, the CEO of BlinkJar Media and the head of media relations for ExxonMobil. The speakers spoke on the influence social media has had on advertising and the possible career opportunities in social media marketing. In case you missed it, here are some of the key takeaways from that seminar:

How Do Companies Utilize Social Media in the Workplace?

Social media breaks down geographical barriers and positively influences promotion and connectivity. This allows companies to network and connect to a larger target audience than they would have been able to using traditional media (i.e. television, radio, and newspaper). Social media is a tool that is utilized by most companies to provide customers with better customer service and fast, accurate information and updates.

Companies use different social media platforms to appeal to their target audiences. For example, companies that use Facebook most likely have a target audience of adults in their late forties to mid-sixties, while companies that use Twitter appeal to a younger demographic.

Jobs in This Field

Writers: especially creative and expressive writing like blogs
Video Producers: video editing, filming, etc.
Marketing: requires marketing or sales knowledge
Research & Data Analysis: providing demographic breakdowns and data on customer history
Advertising: requires networking skills
Customer Service: the fastest-growing set of jobs. People like to complain on social media; these positions are in place to help and appease them
Event Planner
Public Relation Manager: managing internal and external relationships and communication, protecting company reputation, and handling emergency and crisis communication
Private Investigator: uncovering criminal activity via social media
Graphic Designers

Social Media Drawbacks

On account of social media’s impact on a business’s image, in the eyes of the public, companies have to be careful of what is said on their social media accounts and how their employees represent them outside of work. Thus, companies and their employees have to be careful of what they say and how it represents the company they work for.

Written by Kelly Brown

Social Media for the Job Search

September 7, 2017March 30, 2021

If you missed our August seminar on “Social Media for the Job Search,” here are the key takeaways.

Over 90% of recruiters are using social media these days. They can use them passively to check you out. Or they use them actively to search for candidates. Most likely they will do both. The big three for job search purposes are LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Social media can benefit job searchers in four main ways

Finding job openings that are posted
Networking
Building your personal brand
Getting to know a potential employer

Job postings

This is pretty straight forward. Facebook and LinkedIn both feature job boards, where companies can post open positions. Users have the option to apply directly on Facebook and LinkedIn. While applying with your LinkedIn profile is perfectly fine as long as your profile is well written and complete, applying with your Facebook profile is probably not your best bet. Most people use Facebook primarily for private interactions, so there is not enough work specific information on there. If you see a job posted on Facebook, go directly to the employer website to apply rather than apply through Facebook directly.

Many companies also announce open positions in their updates and tweets. Therefore follow the organizations that you are interested in to immediately become aware of newly announced positions. On Twitter, some companies even have separate twitter handles for their recruiting division.

Networking

80% of open positions are never advertised and are found through networking. Social media can be a great tool in your networking efforts. LinkedIn was specifically created to facilitate professional networking. Use it to find people you know at your target companies, to find people who can connect you to your target companies, to reconnect with old college friends and colleagues, to discuss professional issues with colleagues, etc.

Use your network of friends on Facebook and Twitter and let them know that you are looking for a new opportunity. Craft a targeted message letting your friends know exactly what you are looking for, what your expertise is, and how your expertise and experience can benefit a future employer.

Building your personal brand

Social media is tailor-made for developing your personal brand. Before you start posting, determine exactly what your professional expertise is, your target audience, and how you want to position yourself. Identify influencers and organizations you want to follow and engage with. In order to make the most of social media, you have to be very active, post often, comment on others’ feeds or in groups you belong to, and engage your audience.

Getting information about potential employers

By following your target organizations on social media you will gain a lot more insight into those organizations than by just looking at their websites. Social media are often updated in real time and much more frequently than websites. This allows you to get a much better grasp of company culture. The better you know a potential employer the better you know if it might be a good fit for you. As an added bonus you will be the first to learn of new opportunities, since these days many companies announce open positions on social media first, before updating job boards.

Caution: Social media can harm your job search efforts as much as they can help

While you are job searching, be especially vigilant about what you post on social media! Compromising information has a way of “getting out there.” So don’t post anything you don’t want a potential employer to see.

Social Media Rules of Thumb

Building a good personal brand on several social media platforms takes a lot of time. If you don’t want to or can’t devote a good bit of time to it, concentrate on one platform and use that one well. For most people in corporate America, LinkedIn will be the platform of choice. If you have Facebook and Twitter accounts that you don’t want to use for your job search, set your privacy settings on the highest level possible!
Watch what you post! Abstain from posting photos that are sexually explicit or involve alcohol and drugs! You might also want to hold off on pictures showing you skydiving, bungee jumping or being involved in other activities that potential employers might consider dangerous. Do not post about divisive issues such as politics or religion (unless you are looking for work as a political consultant or pastor, of course). All of these can get you screened out!

If you need help creating your LinkedIn profile or crafting your personal branding message, contact the Career Center at (225) 231-3733.

Written by Anne Nowak.

LinkedIn: Do I really need it?

February 2, 2017March 30, 2021

The short answer

If you are in a professional career in Corporate America, the answer is yes! If you are job searching in Corporate America, the answer is a resounding yes!

The preeminent global social network for professionals

According to the company, LinkedIn hosts the profiles of more than 400 million users in 200 countries and territories. 133 million of those users are in the United States. Recruiter surveys show that 93% of recruiters use LinkedIn to either vet candidates or proactively search for new employees. Yes, you heard right, 93%! If you cannot be found on LinkedIn, you might as well be invisible.

Apart from being found by recruiters, LinkedIn is most useful as a networking tool. It’s about establishing connections with other professionals. Job search and career advancement are all about networking. LinkedIn makes it easy to find and establish connections and to leverage them for a potential job search. It will help you research companies, open positions, and people working for those companies that you may want to connect with. Recently LinkedIn has also beefed up its jobs database and job search feature, so that you can use it as a job board and often directly apply through the site.

As stated above, LinkedIn is most important for people in Corporate America. Small business owners are also seeing LinkedIn gaining in importance for creating new business and marketing. However, there are fields, where this social network is less instrumental, such as academia.

Where do I start?

You have to start by creating a profile. This is very straightforward, just follow the prompts. Make sure your profile is complete! That includes your summary, work history, education, a photo, and recommendations. There is an indicator of “profile strength” on your profile page, which will show what you are missing if your profile hasn’t made it all the way to “all star”. Completeness of profile is important, since only complete profiles will appear at the top of recruiter search results! And, yes, you do need a (professional!) photo and recommendations from connections for your profile to be complete.

The next step is to get connected to other LinkedIn users. Just start by connecting to people you know, such as current colleagues, former colleagues, family and friends, alumni from your alma mater, etc. The more connections you have, the more people will also want to connect with you. Your network will grow exponentially.

If you would like help creating your LinkedIn profile, the Career Center will help you. We offer one-on-one help, LinkedIn workshops, and books about the subject. For very good current LinkedIn information you can also follow Joshua Waldman’s blog.

This is the first in a series of in-depth posts about different features and functionalities of LinkedIn. So stay tuned!

Written by Anne Nowak.