It was the 11th meeting of Minneapolis Saint Paul Social Media Breakfast this morning, and the topic was Social Media & Job Search with Paul DeBettignies.

Although I’m not looking for a job, there were plenty of tips that can help on the hiring side, plus this is easy online SEO and personal reputation stuff that anyone can implement starting today:

• These days, there isn’t much legal issue with HR looking up job candidates online and using what they find against an applicant
• Anything you find in a Google search, a potential employer will find in a Google search
• Create a personalized LinkedIn URL, and if you don’t have a blog, use that link as your Web site when leaving a comment
• Change the “name” of your blogs listed in LinkedIn (this took me a minute to figure out — categorize them as “other” and then you can change it)
• Create your own LinkedIn invitation blurb to use rather than the default
• Take advantage of “What are you doing” on Facebook and LinkedIn
• Search LinkedIn via Google by searching Site:LinkedIn.com (then keywords)
• Ladies, add your maiden name to Facebook and LinkedIn so people can find you
• Be conscious of the line between professional and personal
• Use Twitter for job search: tweet that you are looking, expand who you follow, use search to find users by title/company
• Create a customized Twitter background — at least not the defaults. I created mine using PowerPoint via this.
• Think about the terminology in setting your Location. If you’re in Richfield, it is probably better to set your location as “Minneapolis.’ However, Teresa Boardman pointed out she’s #1 in “St. Paul” and pointed out she’s found a way to be queen of a niche.
• I asked this question: If I’ve done everything you’ve said about my online profile, do I still need a resume? Can I just send a link to LinkedIn? Can I print off my LinkedIn page and just submit that? Paul’s answer: NO. Unfortunately, human resources folks still need a traditional resume.