How is your job hunting on social media?

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Almost everyone is involved with some form of social media. You might be snapchatting, while your gran is using Facebook and your dad is using a fan forum to talk about his favourite football team. Everything is social these days. And most importantly, people are being ‘social’, without realising it. That’s a crucial thing to remember when you are looking for a job.

How private are you? 

Social media has been around for a long time now and more and more people are savvy to the privacy settings on the likes of Facebook. Are you? The majority of employers will now search for any presence you have online because they want to get a feel for the type of person you are, something that’s hard to obtain in an interview. You might think what you do in your own time is your own business, but if you publish it on the world wide web and don’t adjust your privacy settings correctly, you’re leaving yourself open.

As a recruiting organisation, we’ve multiple examples where a potential employer has been impressed with a candidate in an interview and then lost interest after viewing what they considered unsavoury material on the candidate’s social media profiles.

Blurred lines

A lot of us have work friends that we’re connected to on Facebook. Social media has blurred the lines between work and non-work situations. Some of us may be connected with bosses, but even if we aren’t, you’d be amazed how the social ‘network’ can lead to our bosses coming across our posts. Therefore, if you are considering moving jobs, it’s advisable to keep your thoughts and feelings away from social media until you get the job you want and have handed in your notice. In fact I’d go as far as to say if you have any negative feelings about work (even after you leave a company) you shouldn’t air them. Ireland is a small place and you could cross paths again. Also, consider that you might need a reference at some stage, so refrain from any outbursts.

I know a recent case where someone announced they got a new job on Facebook, forgetting about the current work colleagues they were connected to. So by the time they were handing in their notice, the whole office knew they were leaving!

 Hiding the job hunt 

There are lots of places to go looking for jobs online these days. For example, Twitter is popular for the IT, marketing and communications industries whilst Facebook and Pinterest advertise jobs as well. However, the most popular place to look for jobs is still the job boards. Most of the job boards in Ireland, for example irishjobs.ie, prompt you to upload your CV to their database. It’s a way of being found by potential employers but it could also be a potential hazard if your employer uses these CV databases themselves.

Whilst LinkedIn is a very good place to apply for jobs, it is also the No.1 place if you want to be found. Recruitment consultants and HR professionals are well trained in searching LinkedIn for appropriate candidates and it’s common for people to be approached even if they aren’t looking for a job. The tricky bit is updating your online profile when you are starting the job search, as LinkedIn will announce any changes you make. The key is to turn off your notifications until you have updated your CV and then present yourself to the world again. If your current employer doesn’t hire regularly, you’re probably ok, as long as you aren’t linked to anyone at your company. But a word of caution, if you work at a large organisation or you know that your department is currently hiring, there is a good chance someone from work will be looking on LinkedIn and may come across you.

You might assume that I’m biased, but using a recruitment consultancy is actually one of the most discreet ways of job hunting. We can meet you before, or after work. We agree on what you are looking for and then we head off and try and match you up with a job that you want. We’ll also review your online profile and advise you if there any potential pitfalls out there.

How is your brand? 

Social media has turned the broadcasting world on its head. BBC, CNN and RTE don’t own the message any more. We do. Whether it’s understanding a war crisis, picking a hotel or even seeking entertainment, we’re increasingly looking to other members of the public as opposed to professional organisations. Equally, we are empowered to send our own messages as well and by sending those messages we are creating our own personal brand.

In my case, I post my opinion on marketing, recruitment, football and craft beer. So if anyone goes looking for me, that’s typically what they will find. If you’re looking for a job in a particular industry I would recommend building your brand towards that.

For example, if you are looking for a job/building a career as an accountant in Ireland, join LinkedIn groups for accountants in Ireland and get involved in the conversations. If you want to link in with someone make sure you personalise your message. Search for Twitter handles that relate to accountancy or look for accountancy stories and retweet them. Write blogs about changes in the industry or economic situations that relate to the industry. Set up or review your LinkedIn profile to ensure you have a compelling bio, a professional looking picture and accountancy keywords throughout. And make sure your LinkedIn profile matches your CV.

 Do a Google search of yourself and see what comes up. If there are a few photos or comments out there on the web that you think an employer would frown upon, get them deleted or adjust your privacy settings appropriately. Social media can make or break you as far as getting a new job, but if you take due diligence you can use it your advantage.

Stephen Flanagan is Senior Marketing Manager with Hays Ireland. Hays will be hosting a stand and running the Career Bootcamp at Career Zoo on Saturday 13th September at Dublin’s Convention Centre. Register if you would like some to hear more useful tips from Hays.

Interview with Vanessa Greene, DCU, CoderDojo

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CoderDojo is a nonprofit organisation that teaches kids how to learn how to code. Hays has been supporting CoderDojo for over two years. Vanessa Greene, a recent school leaver at 17 years old, told us a little bit about why CoderDojo is so cool and how they are making young women like her excited about coding and a career in IT.

How did you hear about CoderDojo?
I first heard of CoderDojo from my careers guidance teacher in school. She was aware of my interest in technology and sent me details of two dojos which I could attend.

What encouraged you to get involved?
I was encouraged to join a dojo after running into difficulty teaching myself JavaScript. At first I didn't want to join as I was under the impression they were going to be full of much younger boys. I didn't want to feel intimidated and out of place. When I was sent links to CoderDojo Girls in DCU, I changed my mind. I was still nervous about joining but since it was a girls-only class I thought ‘I’ll give it a go’.

What was the first dojo like compared to dojos now?
There hasn't been a big difference in the past year. However there is a large increase in girls attending. DCU is extremely busy every Saturday and since I started there, a whole new class has been added to cater for the demand of very enthusiastic children wanting to learn to code. Besides numbers and extra classes in DCU, I think the kids in the classes have become closer. You see them making new friends and the mentoring team is also very close.

What do you do in CoderDojo?
I spend most of my Saturday in DCU and it usually goes as such:
10am: Mentor with the beginners’ class or the girls’ class (or mixed coming up to Coolest Projects).
12am - 2pm: Grab some lunch, catch up with my good friend Catrina, work on any coding problems I have from personal projects and mentor a bit in the mixed class if they are short of mentors.
2pm - 4pm: Attend the advance class (where they work on entries for Apps4Gaps)

The main thing I do in CoderDojo is mentor beginners, which I love. This involves teaching kids the basics to making their own website and preparing them to move into the other classes. This is a really good job as mentors are the ones who help kids understand what a computer language is, how to write in some computer languages and help solve coding problems. Helping kids is very important in dojos. They are encouraged throughout and if they make a mistake they aren’t necessarily wrong! CoderDojo mentors help tackle the problem and encourage different ways of thinking to solve the problem.

How do you encourage people to get involved?
I have asked so many people to join dojos, as a student or mentor and I’m yet to succeed! Many people just say “ah that’s not for me”. I believe the kids who are interested in code are missing out!

What do your friends think of your coding skills?
It depends on the friend really. Those whom I attended school with don’t understand anything about coding and think I’m really good with computers. However, on the other hand, those who can code and programme, can be rather critical.

Do you think we need a CoderDojo Girls only class?
Sadly Yes! We do need a girl’s only class. There are a few reasons why I think so:
Girls Confidence: Girls are more confident in a girls dojo, they aren't afraid of boys judging their answers and ideas.
Less feeling of exclusion: Often girls will feel excluded regarding technology as boys tend to leave them out without realising.
Creativity: Girls are very creative but sometimes try to hide that around boys so we need to encourage them to not be shy about unleashing their creativity.
Lastly a Slight Cliché:  I think we do need to promote girl power! Girls can code! We can have a great career in technology.

Why is CoderDojo important? Do you think it will have an impact on the future of IT?
CoderDojo is extremely important! We must teach children to code as we teach them art, music, languages and maths. We often teach kids what they need to know to pass an exam, not necessarily skills to use for life. Our lives are run by code and most people don’t even understand what code is! Phones, cars, lights, doors, TVs, planes etc. all use code. So if it’s everywhere, why aren't we teaching more people about it? Coding is like giving a child a blank page and saying ‘create anything’!

Do I think dojos will have an impact on the future of IT? 
Yes! Just have a look at Coolest Projects. Look at what 6 year olds can do. This is going to create such an increase of competition in the IT industry in the coming years… I think I’m going to have to watch out!

Has CoderDojo influenced your thoughts about college?
Yes! A lot. Two years ago before I started coding I wanted to study photography. It was my first choice. Now my CAO application has been filled out with almost only computing courses. Actually there is only one non-computer course on my application.

If you could change ONE thing about CoderDojo – what would that be?
I don’t know if I would change anything. As a whole I like the way the organisation runs and I really like the dojo I am in.

Does your school support STEM / IT subjects? Are you in a girls only or mixed school?
In school teaching computers is teaching you how to use a very old Microsoft Word. This is why I set up a computer club in April last year and began teaching students to code after school on Fridays. I attend an all-girls school (always have)! Which is one of the reasons why I was nervous to join a mixed dojo and joined the girls instead.

Are they actively encouraging students to be more involved in STEM subjects?
When it comes to Science and Maths subjects everyone in school sees them as compulsory and boring, there isn’t an emphasis to change that opinion. Also Leaving Cert. students are restricted in Science subjects (physics is not an option and chemistry will only be considered if there are large number of students interested in taking the class).

Vanessa Greene
CoderDojo DCU Girls