Are you getting the most out of conferences & training events?

Illustration: Oscar Ramos Orozco

With conference season in full swing, and of course ARPM 2014 (Australasian Residential Property Management Conference) just around the corner it is important to make sure that the time spent away from the office is both productive and effective. If you’re going to spend money to sacrifice a significant portion of valuable time that could be spent taking action, then we’d better make it worthwhile!

I’m a huge believer of taking time out to work ON the business instead of IN the business – but we get so busy keeping up day to day that we often forget to put time aside to develop and improve our service, systems and ourselves - time purely committed to getting better at what we do and how we do it.

So with this committed time, it’s important to me to be as organised as possible leading into the conference or training event so you can focus, actively listen and take in as much as possible; as well as ensuring that you walk away with tangible outcomes, projects to action and new ideas to implement.

Of course post-conference, we want to feel that we have got value for our money and time spent. So how do you measure the value of a conference? Is it the number of new ideas written down? Is it the number of business cards collected? Old relationships rekindled? Time spent brainstorming with your team? Are you just relieved to sit still and listen to someone else for a change?

The defining points of value may be different for everyone but to assist you in getting the most out of your next property management conference or training event I have a great handy document of the “Top 10 Tips to get the most out of Conferences and Training Events” – simply click here and we’ll shoot it over!

Do you have a learning culture in your business?

Having a learning culture in property management will take you one step beyond simply having the skills you need to deliver a good service. It will empower your staff to achieve dramatically improved results compared to traditional businesses. Because as you are enabling staff to anticipate and adapt to change, as well as grow through innovation, they will also become more energetic, loyal and goal orientated.

Creating a learning culture requires a change in the way you see the traditional real estate model – usually heavily focused on sales training. To develop a company wide learning culture, training must become a key focus in the overall business strategy and it needs to be seen as a long term commitment (not a quick fix). A true learning culture continuously challenges its own systems and way of doing things, ensuring continuous improvement for not just the business but the individuals themselves.

Training can be a strong motivating factor for your staff, for some property managers this progress and development will be more important than money, as it helps them grow and gain new skills. It will help their performance at work and make them feel part of something bigger than themselves. Your workplace can become a business that people strive to come and work for.

On a team management level it will also get everyone functioning together, trusting and complementing each other and through having common goals will be able to produce extraordinary results. To be effective, training needs the full participation and commitment of all staff, at all levels – especially you.

To get started on redesigning your learning culture, we have a great analysis tool that can help you to identify where your company is currently at in regards to learning culture, click here to receive the “Learning Culture Audit” checklist!

If you are Real+ member, click here to visit Real TV where you can watch the webinar, 'Team Management Tools'

Are you and your team up for some role play?

Don’t worry nothing too sinister here, but after our recent Scripts and Dialogues webinar we’ve had some request from our Directors and Department managers for advice on Role Playing.  Role Play is not just valuable in the new business arena but can be a great way to build up the confidence and dialogue skills of your team.

Role Playing provides your staff a chance to act out, rather than merely talk about ways to solve problems effectively – the benefits are endless. It also gives you the opportunity to provide them with supervised practice, feedback and support in dealing with “real life” problem situations.

As a manager this kind of teaching technique will come naturally to some, however for those who haven’t dabbled much in Role Play for your team, or are looking to improve we have some tips here for you:

• Try to give advance warning of a role play. Some will need time to mentally prepare for this (or time to find an excuse not to attend, which of course they won’t be able to get passed you...)
• It is helpful for you to take the lead and act the situation out first to get things off to a good start.
• Be sure to clearly define the situation and roles to be played (some may wish to write the situation and role down first)
• The staff should be encouraged to be realistic in role plays – but should also to understand that it will usually feel a little awkward and unnatural. (The point is that skills will translate naturally in a real life situation.)
• Gentle encouragement may be needed for some staff where as some staff will take at it like a fish to water (those will be your initial volunteers).
• It is fine for you to coach them to portray their roles during the action as it provides feedback and support. Always try to swap the roles to allow both parties to have a go at each role.
• Praise all role play efforts, there is no wrong, just room for improvement.
• If there is a group situation, always encourage the group to be the one to provide the feedback on what they did well, what they could improve on and their own suggestions for the situation.

For more ideas, assistance Role Plays (new business or property management) don’t hesitate to contact Hermione at Real Plus here

Winning New Business in Property Management Through Practising Scripts & Dialogue

What are the most successful rising New Business stars in Australian property management doing to improve their results? How do they manage to sign so many new clients and deal with any objections with ease, even if they don’t have the strongest communication skills?

Well there is no other way about it, these people are undergoing regular, ongoing coaching or training, including practicing their “Scripts & Dialogue” and role plays.

Ongoing training and practicing prepares you for any conversational situation that may arise in property management or new business, and ensures that you are prepared and poised with whatever is thrown at you (which is getting tricker the more educated our clients become).

Continual practice allows you to fine tune your conversational and practical skills before taking it out on the road. It is vital to the success of not only new players in the new business world, but even the most experienced professionals, to be constantly re-training and continually developing their skills in this ever-changing property market.

If you’ve been to any of Fiona Blayney’s training sessions you’ll know she doesn’t believe in “scripts” but likes the concept of dialogue, that is, knowing what to say, but putting it into your own words or dialogue.

Often one person’s method of selling something will not feel natural to another. You need to find what works for you. Through undergoing training, coaching and role plays you are given the opportunity to develop your dialogue and turn the “scripts” into your own words in a way that not only conveys the service you are selling, but highlights your belief and passion in it.

If you are Real+ member, click here to visit Real+TV where you can watch our webinar New Business Bootcamp Breakout: Scripts & Dialogues

Leadership – When the Leader is Finding it Hard to Lead

As you may know, I work with many leaders around the country as a coach and mentor; I am very humbled to be able to provide assistance and guidance to some amazing people. I often learn from them during my sessions or receive reminders of the importance of various leadership activities and traits and at times my own short comings.

In today’s session, I was reminded of one of the biggest challenges that a great positive leader faces, is the challenge of actually leading in the right direction all the time. Being a leader can be relatively simple when things are going well, but what happens during difficult times, times when our teams are frustrated and negative? What happens when the leader shares the frustrations of their team? Today we discussed how to lead a team during this time.

Let me share a few of our findings;

• Be real with the team, let them know you too are frustrated, but convey this in a realistic emotionless manner
• Ensure the team understand you are choosing to see the glass half full, however difficult it may be
• Constantly refer back to the core values of the business, are we or how can we embrace these in the current circumstances
• Empower the team to identify what they can influence to improve, even slightly, the situation.
• Provide the team with the task of formulating solutions, several of them, and if appropriate and differing expenditure levels

In times of challenge, your team are watching your every action; they look to you for not only guidance but confirmation that “things will get better”. Your first step…. Believe it yourself!

- Fiona Blayney

New Condition Report for Residential Tenancies in NSW

In a bid to reduce the incidence of falls from windows and balconies, the NSW government has made changes to the condition report for rental premises. Effective from 1^st March, the new version of the condition report includes ‘window safety devices’ wherever ‘windows/screens’ feature.

Whichever method of condition reports you use, whether that be paper, online or a third party application, ensure that your reports are updated to reflect this change. You can see an example of the new version of report by downloading a copy from Fair Trading’s website here.

For more information surrounding window safety and the safety measures being implemented in NSW, visit the Fair Trading window and balcony safety page.

Need Advice on Landlord Relationship Management?

Don't just woo them - win them over long term!

The first stages of the landlord relationship are kind of like a new romance. We are trying our best to woo the client during our first date with them (the appraisal), showing them all our best features and tricks (during the leasing process) and securing them as yours (negotiating the tenancy).

But what happens once this honeymoon period is over? Does the ongoing relationship burn strong with confidence that they have made the right choice in you?

Or is this the part where attention to that client quickly fades as other tasks take priority, and the client is left wondering why they made the decision to go with you in the first place? Are they thinking “None of those amazing promises they first made are being met!”

Perhaps the problem doesn’t lie in there being other tasks to do (there will always be other tasks to do) but potentially, in the rush to woo the client over: 

1. The needs of those clients hasn’t been effectively listened to, recorded, or passed onto the property management team. How are they best contactable? What level of involvement do they wish to have in the ongoing management? At what stage do they need to be advised about certain issues?

Or 2. That we haven’t done a thorough job in educating our new clients as to exactly how the ongoing management process will move forwards after the initial honeymoon period. Do they know what the property management service includes? How we communicate with them, how is best to contact us, expected response times, how unforeseen issues will be dealt with, when they receive their funds and more.

Of course first impressions are important to establish the relationship with the client - the initial impression can set the tone for the entire customer experience! However it is increasingly more important to spend more time in discussing the needs and requirements of the ongoing relationship, to ensure that you’re passing over the baton smoothly beyond the initial stages of leasing. 

If you are Real+ member, click here to visit Real+TV where you can watch our webinar: Starting the Landlord Relationship Right.

Want to Learn the Secret of Prospecting?

Prospecting is a fact of life for those wanting to be successful in New Business. I’m sure we would all much rather rely on referrals, word of mouth, even sales leads, however in order to get ahead of the curve and generate more leads we have to prospect!

So why is it that even the most experienced of us resist this proven strategy unless we are poked, prodded and pushed by our managers?

Excuses include:
“I don’t like the rejection.”
“I don’t want to come across like I’m desperate for business.”
“I don’t want to sound like a telemarketer.”
“I don’t like interrupting people at work.”

There are few main dynamics that prevent us from embracing cold calling. Cold calling is hard work, no one likes to hear ‘no’ and we all have the need for instant gratification.

The key to busting these excuses and breaking the mould is understanding that it’s all a numbers game. You need to train yourself to recognise that every ‘no’ you hear brings you one call closer to making an appointment or creating a relationship. You also need to condition yourself that eventually you will get a reward for your efforts, there is sadly no magic quick fix or instant result. 

When you learn any new skill (even a hobby, sport, or language) it takes time to just become comfortable. It takes longer to develop a level of consistent proficiency. And, it takes even more time to develop your skill to the point of excellence. The same concept applies to prospecting. You can’t expect to make ten calls and master the skill (or get the results).

The more calls you make, the easier it will get and the more proficient you will become. As your skill improves, so will your ability to generate leads and secure appointments. If you can push through your initial resistance you can develop the ability to postpone your need for instant gratification. And as you do this, your results will improve!

If you are Real+ member, click here to visit Real+TV where you can watch our webinar: New Business Bootcamp Part 7 - Prospecting.

New Legislation in South Australia is Coming into Effect

We’ve just received word that new legislation surrounding the Residential Tenancies Act 1995 will be coming into effect on 1^st March 2014 in South Australia.

This initial phase of legislation amendments intends to increase the security and protection of all parties who sign a private rental lease agreement or a rooming house agreement. A second phase of legislation reform will come into play in the 2014/2015 financial year, dealing predominently with rental bonds and bond procedures.

Landlords and agents will be given a two month grace period from March 1^st. This transition time is to ensure that you have the opportunity to make all necessary adjustments to your rental property management practices and procedures.

The Real+ team is currently reviewing all modules and content to ensure our learning platform is completely current. We will advise when the relevant updates have been made in our platform to ensure you can make the most of utilising our program to re-educate yourself.

In the meantime, the Consumer and Business Services has issued a summary of the changes to legislation which you can find by clicking here: http://www.cbs.sa.gov.au/assets/files/Summary_of_the_Changes.pdf 

Are You Demonstrating Value?

A Facebook conversation caught my eye yesterday. There was a quickly developing chain of comments on the back of one friend’s status. The status was regarding her extreme disappointment with her property manager and asking around for an opinion as to whether she should self-manage.

People that I didn’t even know were owners of investment property were suddenly coming out of the woodwork to express their disappointment with their property managers too.

The conversation revealed complaints of lack of customer service, no response or communication, comments around not seeing value in having a property manager (to put it nicely) and comments around it being better to manage their properties themselves.

After 10 years working in property management, these kind of comments really disappoint and concern me. The fact that we are not seen to be the professionals we should be seen as, that people do not see value in what we do, and that there is a notion that property managers are “useless” means that something is not working.

We know how tough and demanding property management can be. We know the flack PMs can cop whilst working long and hard to navigate the complexities between keeping landlords, tenants, and contractors happy, whilst acting within office procedures and the legislation of your state. And we know how hard it can be to get back to everyone in a timely manner.

We are further challenged now than ever before as we are now expected to be experts in so many areas and wear many different ‘hats’ for our now well-educated 'Google generation' of landlords and tenants. Unfortunately now, even 20 years' property management experience sadly doesn’t mean we have all of the skills to deal with the expectations those educated clients of 2014 have of us.

In saying all of this, research shows that this notion of 'useless' being perceived from the outside often comes down to a basic lack of communication.

There is no doubt that ever-mounting inbox can become overwhelming. Top that with the clients phoning to see if you got the email that is sitting in your inbox and it can start to feel like there is a big monkey sitting on your shoulders.

What we need are additional techniques, skills and systems to overcome these challenges, and to fulfil our roles. Ongoing training and continual learning (for both property managers and their managers) is going to be the only way to deal with this.

There are a few (seemingly simple) communication techniques that you can use to better deal with these clients and mirror the level of customer service that they are expecting:

• Set expectations from the start of the relationship (such as your expected response times to phone/email/texts). Also seek out their preferred method of communication. It's no use waiting on a response to emails if they are a phone person.
• Set expectations on the whole property management process from the start - i.e. how often routines take place, what is an urgent vs non-urgent issue, how does the invoicing and statement process work
• Readjusting expectations if external factors mean you cannot deliver a result
• Have an auto response on your email account that thanks the client for their email, and gives them an expected response time. Also indicate response time on your voicemail (and of course deliver on that expectation)
• Update your client – even update them before they ask for an update, even update them if there is no update

Of course, all of these tips will only work if you do what you say you will, when you say you will do it. If you are prone to forget, diarise call backs in your outlook calendar at the end of the conversation. Utilise modern technology to assist with 'to do' lists and managing your time. 

Having your time more efficiently managed, (i.e. using blocking techniques) will make sticking to your own communication program easier. If you are unsure of how to implement and manage any of this, seek additional training.

If we start to use tips like these, and ensure we are constantly training and developing ourselves, perhaps we can start to change the notion of property managers being “invaluable” to being worth every cent of management fees. And that next time someone asks if they should self-manage – that the responses might look a lot different. 

NCAT is Now in Full Effect

In case you missed it, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) commenced on January 1 2014 in place of the Consumer, Trader & Tenancy Tribunal (CTTT).

NCAT integrated the existing 23 separate NSW tribunals in an effort to provide a single (less confusing) gateway in a bid to improve the accessibility, efficiency and accountability of the tribunal system.

To maintain consistency and transparency across the board, NCAT now consists of five different divisions – consumer and commercial, administrative and equal opportunity, occupational and regulatory, guardianship and victim support, in hopes of increasing confidence in the public with using these services.

Matters that had been lodged or in progress with CTTT before January 1^st do not have to be relodged.

For more information visit: http://www.ncat.nsw.gov.au/

Realmark Blog About the Real+ Product

Our clients over at Realmark have written a blog post about the innovative Real Plus product, and why and how it benefits their property management teams.

Follow the link to read the post:http://www.realmark.com.au/our-geeky-property-managers/

National Occupational Licensing System Dumped

On 13 December 2013, the Council of Australian Governments decided that the proposed policy for National Occupational Licensing System (NOLS) should no longer be pursued. This comes as a relief to many throughout the industry who believe a better option exists.

After discussions with the State governments, several concerns surrounding the NOLS model arose. If a policy for NOLS was pursued, there would have been significant costs for the governments and occupations involved so the jurisdictions encouraged that alternative approaches be sought.

An new alternative plan for labour mobility will be particularly beneficial for real estate professionals that live near the borders of two states as it will allow licensees to operate in any state of Australia using just the one license, rather than having to pay a fee or apply for additional licenses.

The NSW government is working alongside the other States to ensure a system is implemented, and the framework is likely to be similar to how the driver’s license system operates.

Stay tuned for more information on this as it develops.

The Rise of Long-Term Renters

As we have seen the number of Australians who own their home decline over the last decade, we continue to see a rise in the portion of the population who are renting long term – renting for a continuous period of 10 or more years.

Here are some quick stats on the current long-term rental landscape:

• In the last decade, the percentage of people renting compared to owning a house has risen from 18.4% to 25.1%.
• $347 is the average amount a household can expect to pay on housing per week – which is 19.7% less than homeowners with a mortgage pay per week.
• The average renter spends 20% of their gross income on rent.
• 10 years ago, around 27% of renters had been renting for 10 years or more. Today, 33.4% of renters have been renting for 10 years or more.
• 31.8% of people feel they need to rent for longer periods of time to save for a larger house deposit.
• The number of middle-aged Australians renting long-term continues to increase.
• More and more families are occupying rental properties, whilst the number of single person rental households is declining.
• A significant proportion of people who rent don’t feel a sense of community in the area they live, and are less satisfied financially.

What does this mean for property managers?These statistics highlight how important it is to value and take care of your tenants, rather than viewing them as dispensible. If tenants are frequently moving in and out, a property is going to experience a lot more wear and tear.

Property managers should encourage their landlords to find long-term tenants and keep the positive aspects of not having a vacancy in mind when considering when and how often to raise the rent.

Free Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service for NSW

NSW tenants, landlords and property managers can now utilise a free tenancy dispute resolution service which aims to resolve residential tenancy disputes rather than having them heard by the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal (CTTT) which will be known as the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) as of 1^st January 2014.

Areas where Fair Trading is able to assist in resolving disputes includes:

• repairs and maintenance
• non-urgent health and safety issues
• alterations and additions
• access to the premises including inspections
• non-compliance with the tenancy agreement
• water saving devices and smoke alarms
• provisions of correct notices
• ending a tenancy
• breaking a lease, and
• condition reports

Rather than have parties go through the standard initial conciliation process at tribunal, this new resolution service seeks to resolve disputes through a teleconference or onsite meeting. This method relies on the co-operation of both parties and their willingness to reach an agreement out of court – Fair Trading recommends that parties involved in a dispute are open to various suggestions of how to settle the dispute.

In any instance where Fair Trading cannot help the parties reach a mutual agreement in regards to the resolution of their dispute, either party can lodge a claim with NCAT. Additionally, NCAT will continue to deal with all other areas of residential tenancy that Fair Trading does not handle.

Visit the Fair Trading – Residential Tenancy Disputes page, or call 13 32 20 for more information about the free dispute resolution service.

RentRight: New Mobile App for VIC Tenants

Consumer Affairs Victoria have developed a free mobile app ‘RentRight’, designed to assist Victorian tenants in knowing their rights and responsibilities, whilst also providing various resources to aid renters in managing their tenancy.

This app provides renters with a wealth of information at their fingertips, but provided Property Managers are diligent in keeping up to date with legislation and best practice, there is no need to see the app as a threat or problem.

Some of the key features of the ‘RentRight’ app include:

• Legislated information for renters on topics where renters may have previously been unclear of their rights and responsibilities. Areas such as leases and notices, standards, repairs, and entry rights are clearly and thoroughly explained.

• Helping tenants understand condition reports. The app outlines the actual purpose of the report, and also the importance of being diligent with inspecting the property prior to tenancy. It specifies the requirements of both the landlord and tenant.

• Lodging legal notices for repairs, damages and utilities directly to the property manager. The app can lodge urgent and non-urgent repairs or damage to the premises, with the functionality to include photos in the notice. It can also lodge a legal notice if the tenant has paid utility charges that are not the tenant’s responsibility.

• Various email templates regarding issues such as ending a lease (e.g. before a lease agreement expires, because the premises are unsafe, because the landlord has given notice to vacate) and breaches of duty (e.g. keys have not been provided, the premises have not been maintained in good condition).

• Calculating weekly rent costs, to assist renters determine how much their payments will be, whether they are to be paid fortnightly, monthly, six-monthly or annually.

• Budgeting calculator which is designed to track the various up-front costs that may be involved in renting a new property.

It is vital that Property Managers continue to educate themselves on industry standards, legislation changes and their responsibilities – lucky for our Real+ members it’s easy to stay on the ball.

The various learning modules on the Real+ learning platform help test your knowledge and see which learning areas may need improvement.

You have access to resources such as learner guides to assist in managing arrears, maintaining property and even landlord letter templates, whilst we also aim to keep you informed on industry changes with announcements in the ‘News’ section of the platform.

New Strata Laws in NSW to Match 21st Century Lifestyle

As property managers, I’m sure we’ve all been frustrated with strata rules at some point or another. Thankfully, proposed new laws are finally bringing strata rules into the 21st century, according to NSW Fair Trading Minister, Anthony Roberts.

Whilst changes are still some time away, the media is going to be heavily focused on these changes over the coming months, meaning your landlords will hear a lot about it all. In order to be prepared for their concerns and questions, we need to be aware of the proposed changes and start to think about how this will affect our processes.

These changes have been prompted by the growth in strata title across NSW over the last 50 years, with more than 30% of NSW’s population now either owning, living or working in strata and community schemes, the department proposes to introduce these new laws by mid-2014.

The new legislation will provide a number of options for more modern, innovative and positive outcomes for all – including owners, investors, tenants and managing agents.

Some of the proposed changes will include:

For tenants:

• Smoke drift – no longer will tenants be allowed to smoke on apartment balconies.
• Pets by Default – tenants can no longer be banned from having a pet or require special permission to do so.

For landlords:

• Renovations – such as addressing noisy timber and tiled floors before they are laid, as opposed to the current system where noisy floors can only be addressed after they become a problem.
• Overcrowding, building defects, levies, debt recovery, sinking funds, insurance, money management, dispute resolution, compliance and enforcement will also be covered.

Executive Committees & Voting

• Allow strata schemes to choose alternative methods of attendance at meetings including social media, video and teleconferencing. Postal or electronic votes from owners who are not physically in attendance will also be acceptable.
• Tenants will have the right to attend and participate in meetings of the owners corporation tenants will not be given new voting rights.
• Executive committee members in strata schemes will have to declare conflicts of interest and may be required to remove themselves from voting on issues if such conflicts emerge.
• Strata managers, building managers, caretakers and agents will no longer be allowed to sit on executive committees

• Proxy votes will be restricted in schemes of more than 20 units to 5 percent of the ownership. In buildings of 20 units or fewer, owners will only be allowed to carry one proxy vote.

What does this mean for you?
We will be keeping a close eye on confirmation of the proposed changes and keeping you in the loop of how it will affect your landlords, and what you can do to update your property management processes and office policies.

For more information about the new Strata Reform, check out the NSW Govt Srata Title Law Reform Position Paper or visit this section of NSW Dept of Fair Trading site.

New Swimming Pool Laws in NSW

New legislation affecting backyard swimming pools and spa pools has been introduced in NSW to enhance the safety of children around private (backyard) swimming pools and spas. How will this affect you?

Pool owners

Swimming pool and spa pool owners are required to register their pools on an online Register to be provided by the NSW State Government. Owners are required to self-assess and state that their pool complies with the applicable standards when registering.

The NSW Swimming Pool Register is available for use at www.swimmingpoolregister.nsw.gov.au. Owners must register their pools by no later than 29 October 2013. There is a penalty for owners who fail to do so. Owners may also register their pools via their local council.

Owners may apply for a Swimming Pool Compliance Certificate from their local councils or an accredited certifier so they are in a position to confidently register their pool. However, there is a fee payable for this service.From 29 April 2014 pool owners who wish to sell their property must apply and obtain a Swimming Pool Compliance Certificate to be attached to the contract for sale, and pool owners who wish to lease their property must apply and obtain a Swimming Pool Compliance Certificate and provide a copy to the tenant.

A Swimming Pool Compliance Certificate is valid for 3 years.

Managing Properties Affected by the NSW Bushfires

Our thoughts go out to all those affected by the Bushfires in NSW... For our Real+ Members managing properties near the affected areas - we wanted to provide you with some information on what to do if any of your tenancies are affected by the disaster. It’s also great information to know even if you are not in those affected areas. 

Office of Fair Trading: 13 32 20

For all Real+ members around Australia this tragic time is a timely reminder to ensure you have efficient procedures in place in regards to landlords insurance. Depending on the policy in your office and state you need to be recommending or ensuring to your landlords to always have up to date Home and Building Insurance so that they are adequately covered in an event such as this.

If you need help setting up an ongoing annual programme to ensure your landlords insurance policies remain up to date, and to eliminate any risk to your agency if your landlord chooses not to insure, don’t hesitate to give us a call at Real+.

What Face Do You Show on Facebook?

Cheeky status updates on Facebook can be fun and create a lot of ‘attention’ from your friends. Downside is, these types of posts give a client or work colleagues way too much information about your personal life and risk painting the wrong impression.

If business acquaintances have access to your personal page, then it’s time to shift your attention from just ‘social’ posting and include posts which highlight your values and character.

‘Un-friend’ any unsavoury types you’re connected to, avoid mixing alcohol and Facebook updates and try to steer clear of compromising photo opportunities.

Ultimately, the responsibility of what appears on your Facebook profile lies with you. If you’re concerned about your image, now would be the time to adjust your privacy settings and photo tagging permissions.

Your social media profile plays a huge part in how you present yourself publicly and should be the very best representation of you. After all, that potential client you’re trying to impress, could be weighing you up on Facebook right this very minute!