Will Your Social Media Life Stop You from Getting Hired?
If you’re like most young adults, social media is one of the best ways to stay connected with friends. Between Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube and everywhere in between, you and your friends can share every moment of every day with each other.
It’s a great way to celebrate life, especially once you hit college. Free from the prying eyes of parents, you can reveal your latest triumphs (from dating, to bar hopping, and even a new tongue piercing), and disappointments (such as breakups, or unfair professors).
Now, however, as graduation gets nearer, you realize that networking, not socializing, is what’s most important to the career you are hoping to build. Your idea of “connecting” is moving to a whole new level.
With a great photo, your newly honed writing skills, and a list of the reputable organizations you joined in college, you’re ready to create a professional LinkedIn profile.
LinkedIn has a helpful section for college students, which includes building a nice profile page. Check it out. You don’t want to skimp on this most important social platform. In fact, Abhyank Srinet, for Top Dog Social Media, writes that “around 94% of recruiters say that they turn to LinkedIn to find better candidates.”
But LinkedIn isn’t the only social platform recruiters and hiring managers look at when sourcing for candidates.
According to DataCheck, a 2017 study performed by CareerBuilder showed that, “70 percent of employers say they are now using social media to screen candidates during the hiring process, and about 43 percent of employers use social media to check on current employees. The goal, companies say, is to ensure that the individual is a good ‘fit’ for the company, and to ferret out any reasons NOT to hire someone.”
So, while a LinkedIn profile page is helpful (even necessary), be aware that employers know that a candidate’s real personality will be found on less formal social networks, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more.
“Nothing posted online is private. Ever. If students use bad judgment when posting on social media, that momentary lapse of judgment can stick with them for years. We all make mistakes and have lapses in good judgment, and we’re all human. Sometimes we have opinions at one point in our lives that we look back on later and can’t imagine ever having. With the advent of social media, those momentary lapses or opinions borne of ignorance can follow and define us for years. Students can absolutely post whatever they want on social media, but they must also be willing to accept the consequences of that communication, which can never be taken back, no matter how many times they apologize or swear they didn’t mean what they said.”
Dr. E. Michele Ramsey, associate professor of Communication Arts & Sciences and Women’s Studies at Penn State
Let’s face it: companies want the very best candidates they can get. Social networks can tell hiring managers things that college transcripts can’t, such as drug use, a racist mindset, or anything that could be a liability for them.
And, while they’re browsing your accounts for risks, employers won’t help but notice if you use vulgarity, if you’re rude to people, if you complain a lot, or other behaviors not in line with their company’s culture. Will they admit this? Who knows. Just keep in mind that hiring managers are human, and, like us, they make judgements and form opinions.
Knowing this, consider your use of social media. How long have you been using social media? How many pictures have you posted, shared, or been tagged in? How many memes have you posted or shared about a president or politician? In other words, what opinion might your online social life give a recruiter?
“The reality is that through Google, everything online is public. In a Google search, explicit or inappropriate material you may have posted on MySpace is just as visible as the ‘white shirt and tie’ persona you may have created on LinkedIn,” writes Harry Urschel on JobHunt.org.
That’s why, not only should you remove any inappropriate posts on social networks, but it’s so important to have an online persona that is consistent across all channels. Easier said than done; but still doable. It will take some time, but with effort, you can achieve a consistent online presence that employers want to see.
Step one: Run your name through the top search engines.
You’d be surprised by the different results you find across different search engines. The biggies are: Google, Bing, Yahoo and Duck Duck Go.
Your goal is to see what pops up not only on your social networks, but also any comments you’ve left on blog posts or articles, product or business reviews you’ve made, forum posts, comments made about you from other people, etc.
Every post you find inconsistent with the image you want to portray needs to go. Delete these posts yourself, or ask someone to remove it.
“Regardless of what certain social media outlets say, posts can and are indexed by Google, so background searches can and will turn up profiles (old and current) as well as posts. Employers understand being young and having fun, but students need to challenge themselves and think about what they are attempting to accomplish on social media. Especially during the college years, does your online presence demonstrate your personality along with involvement in your school, your chosen subject matter, in clubs/organizations? Students can really define themselves through their online presence with a little bit of effort, while still posting about the fun, silly, and sometimes wild collegiate activities.” [Emphasis mine]
Melanie Ledbetter-Remy, Director of SEO & Online Marketing and Part Owner of Biztopia
Step two: Run your name and usernames through each social media network.
Doing this will allow you to see what you’ve posted. Further, you may be able to see what others have said about you, tagged you in, and re-posted or retweeted from you.
Another reason to run your name through each social media is in case you have more than one account under each site. When Facebook first came out, I found it confusing. As a result, I have several accounts, most of them blank.
On the other hand, years ago one of my daughters found a fake account under her name set up by some nasty school mates, which they used to post awful things to make it look like she said them.
If you find that you’ve been tagged or named in posts or images on friends’ pages that are less than favorable, ask them to un-tag you and/or delete them. If they start ranting about freedom of speech, calmly explain to them why you need it done.
Starting over
Sometimes, the best thing to do is wipe your slate clean and start fresh. This site has an excellent listing of all the different types of accounts (including non-social networks), along with how to delete them.
In the meantime, recheck all the security settings on your accounts to make sure no one, including search engine bots, can access them. Change your password on any account you want to keep.
Also, as far as Facebook is concerned, check your Activity log. There you can find every Like, tag, and share you’ve ever made. A Like on an off-color post made by a friend could realistically cost you a position.
“A social media profile should be viewed as a brand. Do you represent your brand in a manner that suggests you’d be a good hire? If a résumé has potential, and after a check of social profiles and a Google search, I ask myself “is this person someone that I trust to make decisions on posting on behalf of Bizopia as well as other clients online?” It’s my business and trust is an issue. It’s a tough question.”
Melanie Ledbetter-Remy, Director of SEO & Online Marketing and Part Owner of Biztopia
Don’t wait until you’re at the interviewing stage to manage your online presence. It takes time for search engines to catch up with and process what you remove, so start cleaning up as soon as possible.
About the Author: Pamela La Gioia is creator of “The Ultimate Guide Series”. She is the author of The Ultimate Guide to Making Money in College (Without Donating Blood), which provides students over 200 flexible companies offering jobs they can do around their schedules. @TheUltimateGui4
