It’s more than likely that you will have been warned about potential employers checking your social media profiles when you apply for a job – but is this true? The short answer – yes.
According to a 2018 report by Career Builder, 70% of employers use social media to screen candidates during the hiring process. There are many reasons they may do this, which include checking that the individual will fit in with the company culture, fact-checking or simply investigating if the applicant presents themselves professionally online. 43% of employers use social media to check on current employees.
Whether we like it or not, we live in a digital world, where information is made public and readily available online. If you have any sort of Social Media presence, it’s important to make sure your online persona is one that you would be happy for anyone (including recruiters) to see.
There’s no need to panic, though. When used the right way, social media can also increase your chance of securing a new job.
Here are a few tips to ensure your online persona helps rather than hinders your employment prospects.
Give Your Profiles a Make-Over
Spend some time going over you profiles with a fine toothed comb. Do you have any photos you’d rather a stranger didn’t see? Any negative or badly written statuses/tweets? Remember, it’s easy to make a negative impression with something that may not truly represent your character.
Check Your Settings
Are you aware of who can see your Facebook profile or tweets? There are Privacy settings on all sites that will allow you to limit who can see your full profile and how to limit what the public can see.
Make the Most of Your Professional Profiles
Having a great profile on certain social media sites can be hugely beneficial for your career. Spend some time fully completing your LinkedIn profile, including up-to-date, accurate information, a list of skills (if your contacts can endorse these skills – even better) and choose a friendly, professional profile picture. In certain industries, Portfolio sites can be a great way of showcasing your talents and interests.
Google Yourself
We’ve all done it… Search engines make it so easy for employers to find out all about you within a matter of seconds. Beat them to it! Search your name along with your location and see what results you get – it can often be quite a surprise! You may find old profiles with inaccurate information- take the time to find and update-remove these. Don’t forget to check the Google Image results too…
As well as working on your CV and improving your interview technique, spending an hour or so reviewing your social media profiles is an invaluable way to spend your job-hunting time. However, this shouldn’t be a practice that you only carry out while searching for jobs. It’s always important to put some thought into what you share online. Many managers like to keep an eye on how their current team are putting themselves across.
We currently have some great vacancies on our website, so if you are looking for work don’t hesitate to call your local branch and we will start are job search for you immediately.