As reported by Business News Daily, “according to a 2018 CareerBuilder survey, 70% of employers use social media to screen candidates during the hiring process’’.
Perhaps even more surprisingly, nearly half of all current employers make use of social media to check up on their staff.
As shocking and potentially illegal as this might be, if you’re in the hunt for a new job and you’re keen to stand out from the pack (or rather, not do your chances any damage), then such intrusion of privacy is a reality you might have to face.
Don’t let your online presence endanger your job search; here are 5 tips on social media best practice for job seekers.
SET YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS TO PRIVATE
Though we do realise the onus shouldn’t be on you here, first things first, it’s essential that you set all of your social media profiles to private if you’re keen to keep nosey potential employers (and current ones) from snooping on your pages. Enough said.
RETHINK YOUR PROFILE PICTURE
While you may love that uni photo of you, drunk and having a good time with pals, it’s not going to look great to future employees. Ensure your main profile photo isn’t one where you’ve had too many Jagers, are smoking a comedy sized roll up, or are wearing nothing but a mankini.
Getting your profile photo right (as well as the one you might have to include on your CV) is a fine balancing act between casual and curated. You want a flattering solo picture which shows your face clearly but doesn’t look too corporate, but you don’t want the photo to look too forced or posed. It doesn’t need to be a professional headshot (if you can get one, great), but a smiling photo that reflects your enthusiasm will be perfect.
USE LINKEDIN
If you signed up to Twitter and LinkedIn to increase your networking potential, when was the last time you posted something related to your profession or industry? If it was more than six months ago, you may want to get back into the swing of it, especially if you’re actively seeking a new role.
Make sure you regularly engage with your followers, make new friends and post updates and news related to your industry. Actively use LinkedIn to comment on posts, share content related to your trade and even write your own articles. Being active is good on your social profiles as recruiters will see that you’re clearly passionate about what you do.
CLEAN UP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE
Perhaps you once had a bad day at work and went on social media to vent. If a potential employer sees that you’ve bad-mouthed your current one, what’s to stop them thinking you won’t direct the same ire at their company if they hire you?
A Facebook post criticising your boss can have real-world consequences, meaning the whole office could potentially have seen it before you clock in at 9am the next day.
Enter new platform, Redact.dev, which is a unique service allowing you to scan through your social media history and allow the software to remove any potentially humiliating posts.
You can customize Redact to remove the type of content you’d like across a variety of different platforms, including social media posts, DMs, likes and videos. If you’d prefer to maintain a low online presence, you can schedule to delete your posts every 3 months, 6 months or whenever you’d prefer.
The software supports a variety of different platforms including: Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tinder, Discord, Twitch, Imgur, Deviantart, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram and even Slack.
BE MINDFUL MOVING FORWARD
Google yourself. Because that’s exactly what a hiring manager is going to do if your CV lands on their desk and catches their eye. Be mindful of how this invasion of privacy might reflect on you and your job prospects, and consider just how much people can see the next time you post. Good luck!