Most companies look at candidates' social media before making a hiring decision, according to The Market. According to a survey, more than half of employers have found content on social media that caused them not to hire a candidate.
What is a dealbreaker for a candidate when it comes to social media presence and what should employers be looking for when searching through different social media pages? Is it possible to violate privacy and ethical boundaries by looking for the wrong things?
How can a company make their social media checks more fair and consistent? Employers trying to answer questions about social media red flags can use these 4 tips.
Sharing your name and photo on various social media platforms has become a standard practice. Take a moment to think about how many social media platforms you use. Do you think one is enough? Did you mean two? Is there more than three? It could be even more.
It is easy to connect with your friends, family and even strangers on social media. Losing the chance at your dream job or college because of something you posted online five years ago is nothing worse than it is. The top five social media red flags are what recruiters will notice.
Why employers want to see your social media?
There is a picture job looking as a two-way mirror. On the other side, there is you: a jobseeker who searches for everything and anything they can find about their dream employers.
On the other side is your potential employer who will be able to learn a lot about you online, including your social media mistakes. You may be wondering if employers check their social media accounts. For real, for example? The answer is not yet known.
A majority of employers were found in this study.
70 percent of employers use social media to screen candidates during the hiring process and 43 percent use social media to check on current employees, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.
It is common for recruiters and employers to look at your social media activity, so here are some tips to make sure you don't lose out on a job because of that.
Candidate social media profiles can be looked at by the employer, the recruiters, a professional screening agency, or a combination of the above.
If you don't use social media to screen candidates, it may be time to start. You may be surprised at the level of insight you can get by looking at a person's Facebook page or website.
If you still don't believe it, keep reading, active social media users share a lot of information that can be useful to future employers. Employers should check out their job candidates on social media for a number of reasons.
→ The origins of social media in the late 90s
Is no social media a red flag for employers?
What is a dealbreaker for a candidate when it comes to social media presence and what should employers be looking for when searching through different social media pages? Is it possible to violate privacy and ethical boundaries by looking for the wrong things?
How can a company make their social media checks more fair and consistent? Employers trying to answer questions about social media red flags can use these tips to guide them.
It can signal that someone feels comfortable sharing a company is internal business and a company can make the assumption that the behavior is likely to continue if this individual is hired.
Employers should factor in how bad the post was, how consistent it was and how long ago it happened if they discover these kinds of posts on a social media check.
The more senior the role you are applying for or the more outward-facing role, the more important it is that you have a social media presence that is sophisticated and active.
Having no social media presence is a red flag that can fast-track your resume to the "no" pile, regardless of the level or type of job you are seeking.
If you have no social media profiles, but there is evidence that you once existed on Facebook or Twitter, this is a red flag that you have done a dump for some reason.
If your social media profiles were a chronicle of your bad decisions and you deleted them prior to job searching, you should know that you cannot erase your online shenanigans.
If you don't remove your profiles, there will be a digital footprint left behind that will raise questions about your job prospects and what you are trying to hide.
→ Which social media platform is most popular among doctors?
Do employers care if you don't have social media?
In the new millennium, a lack of technical skills makes you an employment pariah. When it comes to the interwebs, having zero social media presence can be a sign that you are not up to date.
At the minimum, you should have a robust profile with lots of connections and some endorsements about your job and skills. Most employers prefer to have active and savvy Facebook and Twitter profiles. If you don't have these social media skills, it can be a red flag that you are lazy or incompetent.
According to Forbes, intellectual curiosity and self-monitoring are two of the key personality traits that employers look for. More than half of employers are looking for these qualities that can be demonstrated through a social media presence.
According to Kathy Harris of Harris Allied, employers are attracted to those with the ability to problem solve and the ongoing dedication to learning new technologies or solutions that will continue to advance in the changing workplace.
If you follow these tips, you can benefit from potential employers doing social media screenings. According to a survey by the Harris Poll, 70% of employers look for information that supports a candidate in order to get them through the door.
Employers can see that you are confident in your online presence if you include your social media handles on your resume. In an interview with The Harris Poll, John Calabrese, an Express Employment Professionals franchise owner, said to keep your social media accounts current to reflect your current work experience and accomplishments.
→ The impact of social media on communication
Should employers check social media before hiring?
The information found during these searches may help a hiring manager round-out a candidate profile during the hiring process, but the usual background and reference checking will undoubtedly still be necessary.
Failing to follow the more traditional steps in the pre-employment process may cause the employer to end up with someone who is not right for the job, but who they claimed to be. There are still unresolved issues about using social media for job applications.
Whether or not using social media to help make a hiring decision amounts to an invasion of the applicants privacy has yet to be established. Whether or not using social media gives an unsuccessful candidate a basis for a claim that the denial of employment was discrimination is one of the major issues.
There is a question as to whether or not employers should conduct social media background checks. According to the contention, social media screening can be a valuable resource for employers regarding prospective employees and whether or not they will be the right fit for the employer.
Job seekers are becoming more concerned about their privacy rights. If the employer is accessing public information that anyone can see, then privacy issues should not be a problem. The only thing that a social media search can provide is a check on the accuracy or truthfulness of the information.
For all the employer knows, clever job seekers could easily have embellished information they post or lied about some of what they have posted. Similar to any other background check or reference check, the information found via social media needs to be verified for truthfulness.
Do hiring managers look at social media?
You can get a good idea of the type of employee you will be getting through social media. Not surprised that it is a part of the screening process.
With more and more people using social media these days, it can be a great tool for employers to check out the true personality of job candidates. Thank you, Robert, for your comment.
Potential employers are going to be looking for us on social media. But why are they doing it? What is it that companies want to know about our private life activities before making a professional assessment of us? Sometimes, they are just looking for potential passive candidates.
A growing number of recruiters and hiring managers use networking sites to find talent. Almost half of the employers said that they had hired a candidate through social media.
Should employers have a social media policy?
Employers could ban employees from using social media at work, but that doesn't cover the risks associated with out of hours social media conduct and do employers have the right to dictate how employees use their social media out of hours?
The best way to manage the risks associated with employee social media use is for employers to have a social media policy in place with policies on internet and email use.
Employers are finding it difficult to keep up with the use of social media in the workplace. It is not surprising that new legal issues are constantly emerging because employees have easier access to the internet and the popularity of smartphones.
Employers must provide employees with a social media policy to manage legal risks. The social media policy forms part of the HR and employment policies of the business. When dealing with social media, the responsibilities that an employee must follow are set in stone. During and outside workplace hours are included in this.
It's a good bet that many people employed by your company use social media at some point during the day. Depending on your industry, they may be engaging on social media as part of their work.
Everyone would know when and how to use Facebook, YouTube, or any of the other major social networks, in an ideal world. 15 years into the age of social media, the norms that dictate what is acceptable are still not defined. Some sticky situations can result from this lack of clarity for employers.
It is a good idea to spell out your company's expectations and standards in a social media policy.