You’ve probably heard that many hiring managers will often look at the social media presence of potential new hires – which means that before applying for jobs, you should do a deep dive on your profiles and make sure you don’t see anything that could potentially harm your ability to get hired. Here’s what you should look out for and remove to make sure you get the job.
Explicit Content
This is probably the most important step when getting your social media up-to-scratch for a job hunt. Explicit material, such as illegal activity, hate speech, or innuendo are all surefire ways to make sure you never get a job interview. (This is probably a good rule to follow in general as well – not just when job searching!)
Political Content
Employers shouldn’t decide whether or not to hire you based on your political views, but it’s a good idea to avoid stirring the pot if you’re focused on getting hired. Being overly outspoken on controversial issues may hamper your ability to get a call back from potential employers. This isn’t necessarily because your hiring manager disagrees with your views, but more because they won’t want social media users to think they are endorsing their employees’ opinions; they would rather keep neutral on those topics.
Complaints/Speaking Ill of Current or Previous Employers or Coworkers
Just like when interviewing for a job, avoid slandering previous or current employers or coworkers. If you’re doing it now, there’s a good chance you’ll do it at your next company – which isn’t a good look.
Non-Professional Topics on Professional Social Channels
We’re really talking about LinkedIn here – make sure your account is only used to discuss career related topics, and keep your personal life relegated to Facebook and Instagram! There’s a much higher chance of employers taking a look at your LinkedIn profile to get to know more about your professional goals and achievements. (Plus – take a look at these tips for setting up your LinkedIn profile.)
If All Else Fails – Go Private
Social media is your own thing – so if you’d rather avoid these rules, we’re not stopping you! It may be a good idea, however, to keep your account private while job seeking. You don’t want your personal life to affect your job hunt!
Happy job hunting!
