SOCIAL MEDIA DO’S AND DON’TS FOR JOBSEEKERS

Increasing numbers of employers, recruitment agencies and HR professionals are actively searching your social media accounts to find out about the real you, and often decide whether to offer you a position based on your profile. We take a look at some of the social media do’s and don’ts for job seekers to help you land your dream job.

The interview process is something that, for the vast majority of job seekers, is a nerve-racking, stomach churning experience with bouts of sweating, mumbling, and the occasional corpsing moment. But now job seekers have something else to think about  – social media, and how it can affect their chance of gaining employment.

In the days before social media, the CV played the pivotal role of providing future employers with our best attributes, and we could keep things we’d rather not divulge about us to ourselves. But nowadays it’s very hard to avoid social media as our information is out there on the world wide web, but there are a number of social media do’s and don’ts for job seekers to help avoid rejection!

A 2014 survey conducted by Jobvite found that 93 per cent of recruiters are turning to social media, mostly LinkedIn, before offering a position. According to the survey, 73 per cent of recruiters have hired job seekers through social media. However, a word of warning – 55 per cent of recruiters have changed their minds after reviewing a job seekers social media profile, and it’s not good news –  61 per cent of those reconsideration were negative. Fortunately, there are a number of social media do’s and don’ts for job seekers to help avoid this.

How social media can damage your current and future career

Thanks to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+ our lives are an open book. We’re addicted to keeping up with the latest trends, posting endless images of our food, weighing in on various topics, offering advice, and occasionally,perhaps, putting ourselves in a less than positive light. We seek “likes” and “shares” – we adore the attention we receive. It’s safe to say we’re addicted to social media. But take a minute to think about what you post online. What type of impression would a recruiter have of you after reviewing your online social media profile? Would that GIF of you downing 10 tequilla slammers go down well with a future or even your current employer?

As increasing numbers of employers and recruitment agencies are searching your social media accounts to see if the person behind the CV is the same person online, we take a look at some of the top social media do’s and don’ts for job seekers.

Social media do’s and don’ts for job seekers

Social media do’s

Privacy Settings – First things first. Check your privacy settings on your social media accounts, especially on some of the more popular sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Facebook tends to change its privacy settings more than we have hot dinners, so adopt the habit of reviewing your settings regularly. If you’re unsure about who can see your Facebook posts, you can colour code them, which will resolve this issue.

LinkedIn – If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, then may be it’s time to set one up – pronto. As the survey from Jobvite found, 93 per cent of employers use LinkedIn to find job seekers. It’s important to spend some time updating your profile to ensure all relevant information, including relevant keywords are included that will allow employers to easily find you. Join LinkedIn groups, share interesting relative articles, get involved in conversations – but watch your grammar and spelling!

Show interest in companies – “Like” and follow companies you’d like to work for, and connect with people who have common professional interests –  this tells companies that you are really interested in working for the company.  But steer away from bombarding them with messages. Don’t become a social media job seeking stalker!

Secure your device – Ensure your devices – your smartphone, PC or Mac, are updated with the latest security updates and use a VPN when accessing public Wi-Fi. Attackers are out there – and can easily steal your username and passwords to your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn accounts and do all sorts of damage to your social media accounts!

Google yourself – Most of us have done this at some point.. While it’s interesting to see how many times we pop up in Google results, a lot of information about us is revealed to employers from our rantings and ravings to the images we post on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Google yourself now and see what the net says about you!

Social media don’ts

Don’t knock your boss! As tempting as it may to occasionally bad mouth your employer or moan about how bored you are at work – don’t! These could be seen by not only your current employer but future bosses too, and could leave a less than desirable lasting impression about you. Think of the theory 6 degrees of separation – “connecting any two people in a maximum of six steps”, which is often evident on social media sites.

And remember – the net never forgets – your comments, criticisms and dodgy photo’s (as funny as they may seem at the time) could come back to haunt you.

Don’t lie! – A great social media don’ts tip is to ensure that what’s in your CV matches your LinkedIn profile. Bear in mind that employers will very likely check your LinkedIn profile, so avoid inflating your profile with job titles you never owned (rocket scientist extraordinaire) and double check that your dates of employment match your CV. A recruiter could ask you about these ‘discrepancies’ during your interview.

Unemployed – If you’re unemployed or currently in between jobs, it’s best not to advertise this on your social media accounts, especially on LinkedIn. What you can do is tell recruiters the type of job that you seeking. Keep it positive!

Abandon accounts – We’ve all been there, created a social media account but then forget to update it. Instead of opening numerous social media accounts, pick 2 or 3 and update them once or twice a week.

You’ve worked hard on your CV, you’re prepped for the interview, you’ve researched the company you want to work for – but do your social media accounts represent you in a positive light? Does your social media ‘personality’ match your CV?

Hopefully these tips for social media do’s and don’ts for job seekers will help you to get the job you want! Don’t be a social media wrecking ball!

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