Many of us use social media to showcase antics, rant about politics, vent about work or document debauchery. Because if you can’t be yourself on Facebook, where can you, right? While you post those drunken photos, you may imagine friends laughing and “liking” your life full of fun, but what does your employer think? We all have moments when we let our hair down, but is that really what you want a hiring manager, who doesn’t know you’re actually a responsible adult, seeing?
Using social media to hire is a reality. 70 percent of employers say they use it for screening applicants, according to a 2017 Career Builder study. The same percentage also look up potential employees’ names on search engines, which means you need to take a look at not only your current social media accounts but any old ones that may be floating around in cyberspace.
The Positive
Most hiring managers (44 percent) are actually looking for support for hiring a candidate. They want to find things that support their hiring decision, not necessarily the dirt. Most importantly, they’re hoping you have a professional online presence that supports you qualifications for the job. But they also like to see a well-rounded individual — someone with personality, hobbies and interests outside of work. The way you post is just as important as what you post. Your online words can tell a potential employer that you have good, clear communication skills.
The Negative
24 percent of hiring managers say they find reasons not to hire in candidates’ online presences. A few things that turn them off: provocative images, drinking and drugs, negative comments about previous employers or coworkers, criminal behavior (obviously), discriminatory comments and too many posts. Because, if you’re spending all your time on social media, they might wonder if you’re capable of existing in the world with actual people. Even if you’re comfortable at your current job, you still need to stay on top of your social media posts. 34 percent of employers say, as a result of something they found online, they either disciplined or fired an employee.
The Non-Existent
It might be tempting to delete all your accounts and avoid the headache of it all together, but that has negative consequences as well. Employers report that many of them have skipped hiring someone when they could find no internet evidence of them. (Do you really exist. if you don’t pop up on Google?) They’re looking for corroborating evidence — something that supports their decision to hire you; coming up empty leaves a big question mark and prompts them to go onto the next candidate easily be researched with a few keystrokes.
Run your own name through a search engine or two. Take a critical eye to your social media accounts, and imagine what a potential employer would think. Occasionally scroll through your timeline, and consider the overall impression. Think before you post that political cartoon, a rant about traffic this morning or you doing shots on your birthday. You know to put your best foot forward in an interview; take to heart in your social media as well.
Sources: businessnewsdaily.com, careerbuilder.com
Photo credit: By Airman 1st Class Devin N. Boyer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons