Employers are now looking at your social media accounts
Can your social media get you a job or get you disqualified?
Who are you, really?
That’s a question most employers want to know beyond your cover letter and CV. They want to know if you are respectful, responsible, trustworthy and if you will follow through on promises.
During interviews, people are on their best behaviours making it hard for employers to tell if a candidate is right for the position. Which leads them to google to get your information.
In particular, they browse through your social media accounts Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media profiles you have publicly available.
70 per cent of employers use social media to screen candidates before hiring according to a survey done by CareerBuilder.
54 per cent of employers surveyed said they chose not to hire a candidate because of the content found on their social media profile(s).
Some of the reasons given as to why the hiring, managers or employers chose not to hire a candidate because of their social media were:
- Posted provocative or inappropriate photos, videos or information (39%)
- Bad-mouthed previous company or fellow employee (30%)
- Posted information about drinking or using drugs (38%)
- Made discriminatory comments related to race, gender, religion (32%)
- Shared confidential information from previous employers: (23%)
- Lied about qualifications (27%)
- Had poor communication skills: (27%)
- Been linked to criminal behaviour: (26%)
- Had an unprofessional screen name: (22%)
- Lied about an absence: (17%)
Good news is what you post on social media can actually get you employed.
44 per cent of hiring managers and employers have discovered content on a candidate’s social media profile that caused them to hire that person.
The main reasons for this:
- Candidate’s background information supported their professional qualifications (38%)
- Candidate showed a professional image (36%)
- Candidate demonstrated great communication skills (37%)
- Candidate showed creativity (35%)
Don’t go deleting your social media yet!
57 per cent of employers said they were far less likely to hire someone in if that person was an online “ghost” or rather is not online
So don’t delete your Social media account, Clean it!
What Should you Do?
1. Google yourself
Type your name in google and search, you need to know what is out there and where?
2. Consider making certain social media profiles private
Sometimes it’s valid to have an outlet where you can share some information which sometimes is social media. In the case of this, choose a social media platform that you can make your account private like Instagram. So that only the people you follow will see your posts.
If you choose this, don’t accept friend requests from your old bosses.
You can also update your Facebook privacy settings so that not everything is fully public.
3. Review your profiles as if you were an employer
Go through your social media through the eyes of someone looking to hire you. Make your bios up to date as well as having a description that reflects who you are now. How is your profile picture? Is it professional?
Go through your posts paying key attention to your latest posts, don’t ignore your old posts as well.
Got any questionable memes? Take them down. How about inappropriate pictures of yourself, or ones in which you’re tagged? This can be one of the most important (and challenging) parts of the process. Un-tag yourself liberally if necessary.
4. Post some meaningful content
Remember 44 per cent employers have found content on a candidate’s social media that caused them to hire that person–so your social media accounts aren’t just a liability have background information that supports your professional qualifications.
With the intense job hunting in Kenya, hiring firms in Kenya are now turning to social media to check candidates profiles to ensure they hire the right candidates among the many candidates who show up for the interview.
Therefore don’t think that employers don’t check a candidate’s social media in Kenya, because they do.
