How can social media affect job opportunities
I’m going to delve into the tips and tricks that will allow you to successfully use social media to your advantage in your search for employment – rather than hindering your chances of securing your next role.
Social media has become an integral part of our lives, whether we like it or not!
What was once a fascinating tool to stay in contact with your family, friends and workplace colleagues, social media has evolved to be so much more over the years.
Social media not only allows users to keep up with world events, but also to expand their professional networking, broaden their parameters for seeking employment, and communicate with a wider audience about their businesses and products.
How to make your socials more “job seeker friendly”
Cleaning up your social media when applying for jobs is essential. While social media is commonly seen as a platform for fun and staying connected with friends, it’s important to remember that anything you post online can be seen by anyone, including potential employers.
In today’s job market, it’s not uncommon for employers to search for candidates on social media before offering them a position. In fact, rightly or wrongly, more than 60% of employers are now using social media to research potential employees.
This means that if you’re applying for a job, it’s crucial to check your social media profiles to ensure that there is nothing that could potentially damage your chances of being hired.
Let’s look at how;
- Delete inappropriate images and posts
Review all of your social media accounts and delete anything that would be viewed as unprofessional to your potential employer. This includes any pictures that include drug and alcohol paraphernalia, offensive gestures or sexually explicit content. Also look through your posts for offensive language, non inclusive political views, and even content you have been tagged in that could be deemed inappropriate.
- Improve privacy settings
Although privacy settings have improved over time, it’s still best to assume that anything you post online is visible to recruiters and hiring managers. So, if there’s something you wouldn’t want a potential employer to see, it’s probably best not to post it at all.
While it’s important to have privacy settings that protect your information, it’s equally important to be aware of the content you’re posting. Change all social media account settings to private.
When setting these, you can change who can view your account information and ensure that anything you are tagged in needs to be approved by you before it is added to your profile.
- Be cautious when deciding to accept friend requests
Make sure you carefully consider who you add to your Facebook, Instagram and other social media accounts. Don’t accept friend requests from potential employers or allow them to follow your private account until they have offered you the job. Don’t worry it’s not rude to not ‘accept’ them as a ‘friend’ just yet, they don’t know – you might never use Facebook, and just haven’t seen the notification. Even when you do secure a role, don’t feel pressured to invite your work colleagues into your private social accounts.
Even after they have given you the job it might be a good idea to have a separate social media account for work-related activity.
Also, try not to accept friend requests from people that you don’t know or you think will reflect poorly on you by tagging you in inappropriate content. On Facebook there is an option with your settings to ‘accept’ a post that you have been tagged in before it goes to your wall.
- Review profile pictures
Always make sure your profile pictures are current, appropriate, and professional. Avoid party pictures, limited clothing such as underwear, bathers or clothes with offensive pictures or language on them.
A profile picture is the first impression for many employers so make sure it is something you want them to remember. The privacy settings on these are often set to ‘public’, so anyone can see them. It might be worth going back through the ones from 10 years ago and just deleting them.
Some questions I often get asked about in terms of social media profiles and successfully obtaining a role are;
When would someone delete their social media if they are trying to get a job?
- Do you have a shady past that is too much to go through and censor? Well maybe deleting the whole thing is the answer for you. Your LinkedIn should be more professional, so that should be fine. However think about getting rid of the old MySpace, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.
- If you are job hunting, and on the computer/phone quite a bit looking for positions or writing your resume, your social media could be taking up way too much time with mindless scrolling. Why not just take a break from distractions and constant stimuli, by deleting your socials for a bit? This will give you a bit of time back to focus on your job hunting.
- To erase a profile that was made in adolescence or a profile that contains content that would reflect negatively on the person.
Will a Facebook picture from 10 years ago impact an employer’s decision to hire you?
Yes, Facebook pictures can impact an employer’s decision to hire you.
Many people don’t pay much attention to the photos they posted on their profile 10 years ago. Any pictures from adolescence or early adulthood that may come across as unprofessional to a prospective employer should be removed from your profile or made private so only your close friends and family are able to view them.
If you aren’t sure about if your privacy settings are correct or not, then when you are with someone who isn’t ‘friends’ with you, ask them to look you up, so you can see what they can see.
Can social media improve my chances of gaining employment?
Yes, your social media accounts are a direct reflection of who you are and what is important to you. Therefore you can use your social media to act as a digital resume that highlights your values, interests, and personality.
Depending on your job, it might work as your digital portfolio of experience.
If your name is the same on your Cover Letter, Resume, CV and Social Media accounts – then chances are the employer is going to look you up before giving you an interview.
Should you delete social media when applying for a job?
There is usually no need to delete your social media account when applying for a job, most accounts can be edited by just deleting posts and making them private.
However, there are a couple of reasons to delete your social media profiles. If you feel as though the majority of your social media does not shine a positive light on you as an employee, or your friends keep tagging you in inappropriate content then it might be a good idea to delete the account if you can’t seem to fix the problem.
Lastly, you can delete any old or out-of-date accounts that you had as a teenager or no longer use. Eg. MySpace, Tumbler or your inactive Twitter.
Is it an invasion of privacy if employers are looking through your personal information on social media?
No, if it is a public account then it is not an invasion of privacy as anyone has access to that information. If a profile is unprofessional due to offensive or inappropriate content and it is a public account, then it will reflect poorly on your employer’s company or business. It is their responsibility to ensure that they hire good employees that share the values of the company and will represent them well.
Social media can be a great way to show your interest in your work and involvement in your industry when employers look through your profile. So use your account to your advantage when looking for work and make sure you will make a good impression.
