How social media can break your job search

Are you blowing social media opportunities

Social media deserves respect

Think about your potential reader before you tweet or post a rant or negative content in your social stream.  You never know who is looking.  Social media gives the world access to your life.  You live in the proverbial glasshouse; everyone has access if you keep a messy house.   If you do not want the public to judge you, don’t give them the opportunity. 

We all wonder if Lindsay Lohan understands how public her life is because if she did realize how many people were watching, you would think she would slow her roll. 

I look at social media in a very similar way.  Social media doesn’t just give your social network insight into your life. The entire internet-connected world is granted access to your life.  My friend, your life isn’t as private as you may think.  

CareerBuilder says

According to a recent US News article, screening candidates based on social media is at an all-time high: 70 percent.

There has been a lot of talk about social media in job searches lately. More companies are using the information found online to make hiring decisions.  I may not base a hiring decision on the content of your social graph. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a data point I consider.  But the fact is that your social graph IS a data point.

You may not have any dirt listed on your social stream, but what may only be dingy to you may be doggy doo-doo to another. 

I am trying to help candidates land job offers and employees climb the career ladder. Many will oppose how I am going about it, my language, and my examples.  Hence, the mask, dark glasses, and the hat.  I am an insider, and one way I will be able to help is to tell the truth.   

The Nasty breakdown   

37% of companies use Social Media to research job candidates

• I say the number is higher.  Much higher.  I would venture that the number is closer to 90% or more in a technology company.  I just blogged about a company that took Social Media to the next level by asking for a candidate’s Facebook login during an interview.  I am confident that just about every company out there is using LinkedIn.   

34% of hiring managers who use social media say they have found a reason to decline a candidate via social media

• Again, I would say the number is higher. I believe that most hiring managers don’t want to admit to these tactics.  There is only a downside to this confession.  In the least, what they may not have found may not have caused them to decline a candidate, but it didn’t help your case toward a job offer.    

29% of hiring managers say that they have FOUND something that caused them to hire a candidate

• I completely agree with this statement, and I believe the number SHOULD be much higher. This is a huge opportunity for the candidate that is usually NOT being leveraged. A candidate’s writing style, how they present themselves, the opinions they voice, or the help they bring to a forum are all actions that reinforce the idea of a great potential employee.    

Some stats mentioned in the social media survey

• Employers primarily use Facebook (65%), LinkedIn (63%), and Twitter (16%)
• 15% of employers surveyed DO NOT allow Facebook in the workplace. 
• Any recruiter or hiring manager worth their salt will check for personal blogs, comments on forums, and a candidate’s name on a program of an industry-related conference as a guest speaker.  These are outside the Big 3 in the social media sphere and SHOULD be leveraged. 

Regardless of what you think, three thoughts

1. The use of social media in the interview process will only become more prevalent as companies move into the future. Resistance is futile.
2. Even if a company doesn’t allow employees to view social media sites at work, too many people have smartphones that CAN access these sites from work, and everyone has access at home.
3. If your profile will be considered, don’t just clean it up. LEVERAGE YOUR PROFILE and online presence to help you land the job. 

Social Media is an eye-catcher

Don’t be afraid of Social Media

To most recruiters, Social Media is an eye-catcher and will only become more prevalent in the workplace.  Below are some ideas on leveraging the above stats to YOUR advantage. You take the fight to the hiring manager:

If you don’t have a profile, start one now.  You may not be looking for a job.  You may be happily employed.  But remember, a hiring manager within your company may check you out for a new team, department, or opportunity. A friend you know may refer you to an opportunity you don’t know about.  Your profile is being surreptitiously pinged. 

LinkedIn confirms who checks you out and how often you are checked out.  If we know that our profiles will be checked, use this information to your advantage.  Don’t cower, don’t hide.  The best defense is a strong offense.

Ask your friends

Ask a (conservative) friend to look at your profile. If they even HINT that something is in poor taste, remove it.  Please don’t argue with or debate with them. Remove it and class it up.  The hiring manager may be just as conservative as your friend.  Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. 

Even if the company doesn’t allow social media, I still check your profile from my desk via my smartphone.  It is not a matter of whether someone will check your profile; it is a matter of WHEN it will be checked.  The person conducting the interview won’t admit to looking at your profile.  When they decline you, they will not say they declined you because of a Facebook profile.

There will be no mention of you passed out on a park bench, cradling an empty 40-ouncer like a newborn.  But make no mistake, they will decline you.      

Things to think about and leverage:

• Blogs! Because so few people have them, they really stand out. It’s okay if you are a sub-par writer. The fact that you have a consistently updated blog will go far. The topic doesn’t even have to be related to the industry you are applying for, but it won’t hurt if it is. If you are a sub-par writer, a blog will improve your writing.   
• Forums:  Providing advice, opinions, and help in general is always good.

Pictures: 

• Make sure your profile picture is current and ONLY portrays you.  Pictures with two or more people in the profile suck. I can not figure out which person is applying and which person is the frick’n BFF. 
• To leverage more facets of your personality, use a casual picture that shows some personality on Facebook and a professional picture suitable for a company website on LinkedIn.  Mountain climbing on FB will show your personal side. A headshot-esque picture on LinkedIn will show your professional side.
• The absence of a picture in this day and age is interpreted as “must look like Quasimodo and the Hunchback of Notre Dame combined.”  There must be something to hide or be embarrassed about.   If you are looking for a job, you ABSOLUTELY need a picture.  

Twitter:

• Type in the words “job search” or “interview tomorrow,” and you will be amazed at the tweets that candidates post.  Swearing, bitching, complaining.  Companies want to hire trustworthy employees to represent them professionally with customers at conferences and online.

Coming soon:  what I think when someone states, “I don’t use Facebook, I call people”. 

See you at the after party,

HRNasty

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