As the years go by, social media are becoming more and more an essential aspect of our lives, not only private but also professional! Especially in a period like the one that we are living, almost any aspect of our daily routine is becoming digital, even the hiring process. In this particular scenario social media are a further display of your experiences and personality.
In fact, according to a recent survey, 70% of employers use social media to screen candidates during the hiring process, and about 43% of employers use social media to check on current employees. It goes without saying that what you post on social media could influence your professional life. It could even go as far as costing you your current job or future job opportunities.
Your first question might probably be: Why would an employer want to check my social media? The main reason is that a company wants to make sure to hire a candidate that will be a good fit. Since social media accounts are deemed to be ‘personal’, there’s a good chance that by viewing someone’s profile it is possible to get a glimpse into their personality and gain information that goes beyond a CV.
Once you have understood the importance of a ‘clean’ profile, it is important to know which social media (and posts) to filter and keep a close eye on. In general, as a job seeker (or current employer), the smartest thing to do is to assume that employers will check every social media platform. However, to save some time and energies, it is also useful to be aware of the main platforms hiring managers are more likely to check:
Most employers view LinkedIn as a secondary resume, while other social media, viewed as more personal, allow to get a better perception of the person, they are not on spying on you or specifically looking for damaging information, so there really is no need to delete yourself from social media – which cannot be ignored in this new era. Actually, such a choice might even backfire! In fact, it turns out that 47% of employers state that they wouldn’t call a person for an interview if they can’t find them online, either because they would like to gather more information before calling a candidate or because they expect candidates to have an online presence in 2020.
Now that you have decided to keep your social medias and start working on creating reputable and ‘useful’ profiles, what are some best practices, or better, what should you avoid?
Finally, keep in mind that, as said before, clean social medias are important not only to land a job but also to keep one. In fact, out of the 48% of employers found to keep an eye on current employee’s social media, 34% reported to have run into content that changed their perspective regarding an employer or a co-worker.
