Now that looking up candidate profiles on social networking sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, has become an established and accepted practice, how one crafts one’s image on these platforms has come to hold a lot of significance.

While LinkedIn pretty much was created with an aim to aid professionals connect with colleagues and industry people, Facebook was meant to connect with friends, acquaintances and family and Twitter to voice ones succinct opinions. But the last two have, along with LinkedIn, emerged as humungous pool of talent with time. An active recruiter would not just look at ones LinkedIn profile but his Facebook and Twitter profiles too. In the scenario, users on the lookout for the jobs should be extra judicious while using these sites.

The most important thing is the write up on “about me.” While a thorough professional description is fine on LinkedIn, treading a delicate line between professional and personal is what does the trick mostly on Facebook and Twitter. These are sites headhunters frequent to catch a glimpse of the personal side of a potential candidate, cause not just the qualifications and experience, the personality and interests of a candidate matters too, especially when it comes to filling a senior position. So be extra careful about how you build up your image. While an interesting, somewhat funny but not tacky, short paragraph on your interests and nature on Facebook will immediately set your apart from the rest, a similar bio in 140 words on micro-blogging site Twitter, with a brief mention of your work will make you more noticeable. For instance a financial analyst’s bio on twitter reads thus, “Pubbing, playing (any outdoor game for that matter) and painting when not number crunching at office. An investment banker, I love anything that spells ART, FUN and ADVENTURE.”

One must also carefully fill up the information, on Facebook specially, rather carefully. While adding one’s favorite movies, songs or books, adding pictures of oneself and of others and writing public posts, one must be extra cautious. It is through these details that one’s personality comes to the fore. Same goes with Twitter. Do not tweet politically incorrect things, especially when it comes to politically and socially sensitive issues. You might want to keep in mind this: “Do not post or put up anything you might not want your parents to read.”

All in all, the social media is a great platform to build a proper image of you. So write right stuff and post appropriate things.