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Social media mistakes that can affect your employability

13th June 2016

Social Media is becoming more and more common in our everyday lives and it is becoming increasingly prevalent in the recruitment process as well. Not only are we able to use it to search for jobs, but many sites now make it easy for employers to also search for us.

Think about the research you do on a company before an interview; you need to take into consideration that many employers are now also doing research on you. Making sure you’re portraying yourself in the right way is vital to both jobseekers and people already in work as a negative impression could lead you to not getting an interview, or if already working, losing your job.

What negative things will employers be searching for?

A range of things online can affect an employer’s impression of you and social media can easily portray a bad impression if you’re not careful. A study by careerbuilder.co.uk found the top 5 things that recruiters search for are:

Inappropriate photos - any photos of you or your friends that include anything from nudity to offensive behaviour will make employers think twice before hiring you.

Alcohol use – employers are unlikely to be put off if they know you enjoy the occasional glass of wine, but evidence of excessive drinking won’t look good.

Negative content about past employers or colleagues – not only is this unprofessional but it gives the impression to prospective employers that you may also post negative things about them were they to give you a job.

Lack of good communication skills – most job roles will need candidates to have good communication skills and will be unlikely to want to hire somebody who shows online for all to see that this is not their strong point. Social media sites are a great place for employers to see what your written communication skills are like.

Discriminatory or inflammatory posts on issues such as race, religion or gender – it goes without saying that companies will not want to hire somebody who discriminates against anybody. It is also unlikely that a company will want somebody in their company who has a strong opinion on something and writes a post about it – whether they agree with it or not, anything that may offend somebody will not look good.Whenever you post on social media, you have to think about who will be able to see it and the image it is giving of you.

Change your privacy settings
Unless you're going to only post things that will enhance your employability, then it’s a good idea to change your privacy settings to make sure that only people you approve can view your posts. All sites will have privacy settings that you can change and there are varying levels of privacy on most popular social media sites. On Facebook for example, you can make your account invisible in a search unless the person searching for you has mutual friends.

On the other hand, sites that are considered professional such as LinkedIn can enhance your employability and making your profile on these visible can have a positive impact on your job search.

How social media can enhance your job search
Although social media can have a very negative impact on your job search, it can also be a very good tool when job hunting and there are some things you can do which will give recruiters a good impression and be more likely to want you to work in their company.