If you think this is just urban legend...WAKE UP! What better way to see what type of dirt bag you are or are not. Employers will judge you based on your social media presence, so stop being a dick or at least take some steps to improve your social media legacy and ensure those vacation pictures from your recent trip to Colorado don't come back to haunt you.
Social media can be your best friend during a job search and it can also be your kiss of death. It has been reported that 1 out of 3 people seeking employment have been rejected from receiving an interview based on their social media profiles.
FACT: 46% of employers admit to checking out candidates on social media and 92% of job seekers have a social media presence.Employers use social media searches on candidates to their employment opportunities to determine a fit within their organization based on professionalism, cultural beliefs and to learn more of a persons qualifications. The first thing you want to do to protect your privacy is to protect your privacy. Having your accounts open to the public might make you the coolest kid on the cyberblock but your life becomes an open book to anyone that wants a peek. Set your privacy settings accordingly. You might also want to go through your account and clean up some of the more questionable status updates and photo's of your recreational activities.
You want to Google yourself. What will someone find if they were to run your name through a search? It is amazing what is out there and available. Everything from social media activity to law enforcement records.
You social media profile should place you in the spotlight of professionalism, with positive posts that
make the reader want to know more about you, beyond the information contained within a resume.
What image of yourself do you want to impress an employer with?
Make your online presence work for you by refining publicly viewed areas of your profile and keep anything questionable private.
Every social network takes some upkeep, and you’re allowed to have favorites as long as you check in once in a while to make sure everything is running smoothly. Have you ever had a Xanga, Live Journal, Myspace or similar account once upon a time? It’s time to look them up and properly deactivate. If the platforms are still up and running, then old pages and accounts may be available for viewing. If there are social networks you haven’t updated in weeks or months, consider deleting them and focusing you efforts on the ones that work.Now if you find this all to be mind numbing and time consuming, which it WILL be - after all YOU were the dick on Facebook, not me - there are a number of tools available that will automate this entire process.
For $100 a year, you can pay for a widget to screen your social media accounts for embarrassing posts that could damage your chances of getting a job or getting into college. Startup company BrandYourself provides online reputation management software that allows you to “minimize negative search results and build a positive web presence.”
One feature in particular scans past social media posts to flag content involving drug use, alcohol, sex or negative rhetoric about a former employer. (The scans don’t include photographs, which can often be more incriminating and easier to access.)
Most social media cleaning understandably applies to Facebook. It’s the most used, abused and most well-known social media network out there, and as a result, it gets the most attention from employers.
However, you should also take a moment to ensure that your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date and accurate in relation to your resume. If you are presenting different information between the two resources, that will raise a red flag for employers. Synchronize the information, but also work to make LinkedIn a place for employers to learn more about your work history, not just a profile parroting what your resume has already presented.
Your prospective employers will appreciate the extra insight, and will have a positive opinion of your social media personality as a result.
