Jeremy Johnson has a new guest blog post this week with tips on watching your online presence when you are job-hunting.
Jeremy is a recruiter in Kansas City for EHD Technologies, a recruiting, staffing and managed services company serving the IT, Engineering and Automotive industries.
You can also follow him on Twitter at jsquaredkc
Watch Your Online Presence When Job-Hunting
I’ve seen it firsthand or heard the stories.
A job candidate has a good resume, makes a good first impression in the initial phone call. Then, the first face-to-face interview goes well and the process keeps moving forward……..and then it happens. Those folks who can offer the job check out that candidate’s Facebook profile. And they’re shocked. And they’re now no longer interested.
Careerbuilder conducted a survey five years ago that said 45% of HR personnel or hiring managers looked up candidates’ social media profiles before making a hiring decision. That’s almost half. And that was five years ago. I haven’t seen recent stats but I think it’s safe to assume that percentage has only gone up.
This shouldn’t be surprising. With people making so much of themselves accessible online, is it any wonder that employers will want to find out if there are any red flags to a candidate before possibly bringing them on board?
Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine you have to hire someone. You find a person you like, everything looks good on paper and the interview confirms everything you were hoping for about this person’s qualifications. But, you want to be sure. So, you get online and do a quick search on Facebook….whoa. Every picture on his profile shows he likes to party – a lot – and in about every imaginable stage of intoxication from barely sober to unconscious. Your job requires someone to be on time at 7am everyday and includes some weekends. Oh, and if this person doesn’t show up, you’re the one who would have to pick up the slack. According to what his guy is comfortable sharing about himself online, you think he might have some reliability problems? You going to risk it?
So, here’s the first rule: have an appropriate profile picture. Anything that shows you in an unprofessional light or doing something inappropriate or illegal may very-well scare off a hiring manager. It may seem funny to you but it won’t be to someone wondering if you’d be a good employee for his or her company. This applies to all major social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ but it’s especially true for LinkedIn. By its very nature, LinkedIn is a professional social site. This picture absolutely has to be professional. Anything less is unacceptable.
This also applies to the kind of comments you make. Are you rude, vulgar, negative, discriminatory, or just plain not pleasant in your comments or status updates? Also, what are you linking to? Is it crass, violent, or just plain creepy and weird? Something to think about if you in the job hunt.
One thing you shouldn’t forget about, and one way to help protect yourself in this arena is to watch your privacy settings. Make sure you’re only making content accessible that you are comfortable letting someone with a job offer see.
Social media can definitely impact your job search, for better or for worse. Make sure it’s working to your advantage. If you’re in the job market, keep it clean, positive and professional.