Social Media is a great tool for networking and job searching. But it can also be a detriment if not monitored closely. Inappropriate information posted on social media is causing more and more qualified candidates to lose out on great job opportunities.
It is extremely important to realize the implications of social media activity on your job search. While this seems like an obvious thing to consider, many people do not realize how much their social media presence can make or break them getting a job offer. Companies and recruiters are routinely researching social media profiles of prospective candidates as part of their initial screening process. While LinkedIn is used as a primary professional social media tool, don’t ever assume that is the only social media profile that prospective employers and recruiters will research. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are fair game too… As a recruiter, one of the first things we do after identifying a potential candidate is to search their social media profiles to gather more information about them. If you are actively or passively searching for a new position, you need to be aware of your social media presence on all sites. When posting or allowing yourself to be tagged in posts, keep in mind what image this would portray to a prospective employer. Anyone searching for a job should be familiar with the privacy settings of all social media sites and be aware of what is on yours. Adjust your settings to allow you to monitor and choose all posts that you will be tagged in and that are visible to the public. Note that privacy settings on social media sites change frequently, so it is important to continually search for yourself on social media to ensure there is no damaging information visible. When in doubt, take it down Lastly, keep in mind-if you are actively interviewing, do NOT post details about your interviews in progress on your social media.
Amy Dunn
amy@technologyrecruiting.com