Many people underestimate the
power of the social media. When it was first design the recruiters who were
hiring you probably hadn’t even heard of facebook. But the online community has
climbed the priority scale in the last ten years. Now you can forget about
recruiters not considering your social media. It’s the most unique snapshot of
your life – and it can either set you up for success or failure.
You’d think that your own private facebook
account or twitter would only bother you and your friends. But many times of
the years employees have lost jobs for inappropriate comments or behavior
online. It is often the first port of call for any employer, especially before
they hire someone that they haven’t considered. It used to be that only the
references – those three mobile numbers you stick at the end of your resume –
would represent you and your personality. However, modern employers have a far
better opportunity to gain insight into the next person that they are bringing
into their company.
According to the recruitment
agency ‘Jobvite’ 93% of companies who hired in 2014 used some kind of social
media to assess their hiring decisions. If there was 93% in 2014 – it’s hard to
imagine why that number would have increased. To take it further, 61% of the
reactions to the profiles were negative, and meant that many of those job
seekers were turned away.
There are several characteristics
that you should be wary of when posting on your online accounts
1. References
to drugs, profanity or sexual posts
According to the survey around
70% of recruiters reflect negatively on these types of posts.
2. Alcohol
or guns
44% of recruiters find these
topics to be concerning. While some may find that this is cumbersome to remove
all references to these topics – try instead for a measured response. Most
adults drink, the reference wasn’t so much to moderate drinking, but extensive
references to it.
3. Your
attitude
Much like being in public you
want to present your best self. We can all be a little irritable and grumpy
when we’ve had a bad day but try not to react online. It’s best to grumble to
yourself most of the time. One
Yale dean lost her job after leaving rude yelp reviews online. Jane Chu posted a review of a restaurant in
America where she called the owners ‘white trash.’ Obviously this behavior is
offensive and wouldn’t be acceptable in normal conversation – so it’s best to
apply the same rules in online behavior.
If you wouldn’t say it to your
mother, best not to post it.
4. Watch
your spelling and grammar
66% of those surveyed said that
they would definitely be turned off a future employee if they saw posts with
bad spelling and grammar. If you’re like me and you’re applying for a literacy
centric position – it’s especially important that you’re displaying these
skills publicly. Many job applicants don’t get to submit a job portfolio, so in
many ways your facebook, twitter and linkedin tell your employer what you would
be like to work with.
But don’t back away from your social
media just yet, according to a study initiated by Careerbuilder, 29% of
recruiters found something that drove them to offer the job to a candidate.
From the high level of online recruiters, it’s clear that making sure you
put a good foot forward can boost your chances. Forbes
magazine explains that candidates have a second opportunity to explain that
they’re a wellrounded person with the right qualities and personality to fit
the company.
To boost your chances of showing
your advantages as an employee work towards creating meaningful connections
online and sharing content that positively promotes your work value.
Good ways to do this include;
Connecting with online interest
groups like ‘Women in Business,’ ‘Climate Change Action’ or ‘Young Lawyers for
Change’. These groups all display that you are a proactive person with a strong
interest in a relevant area of the field your aiming to work with.
Additionally, posting some of
your work online (Where there are no copyright or privacy issues) can allow employers
to have a better understanding of your skills and abilities. Often a candidate
can come across stronger this way then they did in the interview when
everything was rushed.
But it’s not just job seekers
that have to mind their manners online – current hires are 41% more likely to
be investigated than candidates. While this information isn’t necessarily used
against the candidate, 26% of employers said that they had found information
that forced them to either reprimand or fire an employee.
Terry Frei, who was a columnist
for several years tweeted out that he was ‘very uncomfortable’ with a Japanese
driver winning the Indianapolis 500.
The ultimate consequence was that he lost his position in the Denver Post
and the company sent out a post publicly condemning his statement and
apologizing for his actions.
To manage your social media the
best plan of action is to assess what qualities your employer is likely to be
looking for. From there do your best to make sure that you show those qualities
that you genuinely possess and are interested in. Never try to force a fake
interest in something, you can end up in some really tight spots if you do!
Don’t be afraid to actively participate in the online community, but like I
said before – the online world is no different to the real world.
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