Welcome to the first post in our social networking series! This week, we’ll be covering Facebook, arguably the biggest name in social media. For more information on this series, please refer to our introductory post. 

Facebook is the #2 most-visited website in the world—just under Google—with 1.5 billion total users as of September 2013. It’s largely known for its popularity among millennials as a type of personal profile, and among Gen-Xers looking to reconnect with old classmates and coworkers, but it’s quickly becoming an important professional tool that shouldn’t be left out of anyone’s job search tool box. If Facebook is the second most-visited website in the world and the top social networking platform, shouldn’t you make sure you have a polished presence on the site in order to best represent yourself? After all, 94% of recruiters have used or plan to use social media to scout out possible candidates.

Besides the new Graph Search that has everyone talking—which we discussed more thoroughly here—there are a number of ways to turn Facebook into a major professional networking platform. But before proceeding to craft your professional image, be sure to increase your privacy settings on your personal page, if you have one—that way, contacts and recruiters only find appropriate content. When you’ve successfully distinguished your social profile from your professional one, you can…

1. Create a “Page.” Rather than creating another standard profile, consider making a Page, which is a more public profile for businesses, professionals, and products. Having a page will allow people who choose to follow you to “like” you and therefore get access to your content and updates without having to first be accepted as “friends.” This will give you a much wider audience range and easier accessibility. It also allows you to keep your public and personal profiles separate.
2. Organize apps, such as notes, so they are clearly visible. Upload your resume to Notes, as well as any work you’d like to display, and make sure the Notes section is displayed visibly on your profile. You can also upload documents and create a “Documents” tab at the top of the page for viewers to access.
3. Code your work history for success. Recruiters and hiring managers are now using Graph Search to find possible candidates with specific skills and titles in their employment history section, so be sure to include relevant keywords and proper titles in your job descriptions. In addition, be sure to make your work history public so that your current or most recent occupation can be easily found amongst your basic information.

If you’ve already put together your Facebook profile and want to cover all your bases, or if you simply prefer trying out a different platform, stay tuned for next week’s post on Twitter!