Social Media and Recruiting

Social Media and Recruiting

By: Jill Friedman

 

Social Media is everywhere these days. People use it for various reasons, everything from keeping in touch with family, to viewing news, even to exploring new job opportunities. There are many ways social media can be incredibly beneficial to a person, on the flip side there are also many ways it can damage a person if not used properly.

For entertainment purposes, social media is amazing. For professional purposes, it tends to bite a lot of people in the rear. A few of the most common types of social media people use are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. I can almost guarantee in this day and age your employer will be seeking out various methods to see who you are before the interview process begins.

LinkedIn is supposed to be a more professional network; most employers use this network as a fact checker. We once had a candidate that had certain titles on his resume, that didn’t match up with his LinkedIn profile, which caused an integrity issue, resulting in a lost opportunity and an offer with the company. It is paramount that what you say on your resume, matches up with your profile on a public social media outlet.

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter tend to be a little more troublesome when it comes to affecting people receiving a job offer. On these sources of media people are often more free spirited in expressing themselves, both through photos and various content. Many people like to post very personal updates that can lend insight on the type of person they are or wish to become, in addition to political views and family status as well.

Let’s not forget about photos, photos can be a job killer, portraying yourself as a party person or inappropriately clothed can have a negative impact on your career. Also, status updates, it is normal to have a ruthless day at work or even have a disagreement with your boss, but telling the whole world about it is a big employment no-no. Talking poorly about your management or coworkers says a lot about you, remember there are two sides to every story, you don’t know which of your friends or acquaintances can/will feed this information back to them, and get yourself in some hot water. Plus, future employers will not want to hire you if they are going to be the subject of some ugly commentary on Facebook.

However not all social media posting is necessarily bad; it can also have many benefits. You gain access to a new world of opportunities as well. Many companies are using some of these media outlets to advertise opportunities. LinkedIn is a great source for employers to post their job descriptions and get the word out to people that will share this with other associates and friends they may be connected within the market. Many people use Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as modes of transportation of information for things such as benefits or fundraisers a company may be doing.   Another positive aspect of social media is the aspect of promotion, whether you are simply promoting yourself for new opportunities, or a company in expansion mode, you can do great things through the click of a mouse.

From the days of snail mail to the internet era, we have always continued to progress in communications, this has always been a constant, no matter the timeline. The trick is to always being mindful of the what/how you want to communicate and who maybe listening.