Picture yourself with nine of your friends. Go ahead. Take a minute. One of you will not land a job because of something you posted on social media. According to a survey conducted by On Device Research, one in 10 job seekers between the ages of 16 and 34 have been rejected because of what they posted on social media. Social media pitfalls during the job search has been a popular Internet news topic for at least several years, and yet it seems some people still aren’t getting the message.
“If getting a job wasn’t hard enough in this tough economic climate, young people are getting rejected from employment because of their social media profiles and they are not concerned about it,” Sarah Quinn, On Device Research’s marketing manager, said.
Remember that awesome party? Of course, you do! You couldn’t wait to memorialize it by uploading that shirtless photo your friends took of you after you passed out and they tattooed your face with a Sharpie mustache, because, after all, it was hilarious.
How about that rant about your former boss? You know, the one who micromanaged you to death and obviously hated your taste in clothes. “She so deserved it,” you say. Maybe. But that hiring manager who interviewed you last week just read it and dumped your résumé in the trash.
A potential employer might personally appreciate, and even find funny, some of the content you post. Maybe, once upon a time, her office manager intentionally killed her plant or made every minute of her cubicle existence miserable, just like the one you lamented to the world via your Facebook page and Twitter feed. Sure, it’s possible that the VP of operations spends every weekend playing beer pong or keeps an impressive pyramid of Rolling Rock cans in his basement. You wouldn’t know. Why? Because they don’t advertise it on social media. There’s a reason for that.
The only thing employers know about you is what they find online
The only thing prospective employers know about you is what you tell them via your social media posts, and if they don’t like what they see, no job for you. Over 40 percent of employers research the social media sites of job candidates, according to a 2014 CareerBuilder survey, and 51 percent of them have not hired the person because of the content they found.
If the only person employers “see” is an irresponsible, gossipy, drunken drama queen, they won’t take the time to look beyond the noise to find the genius that you know yourself to be. They won’t know that you wrote your first app when you were three and have been the only person in history to find the solutions to the bugs that have plagued Microsoft Word since 1991. They can’t know that you’re an accounting prodigy who has been doing your parents’ taxes since you were 12 and can find the missing penny in a quarterly balance sheet in less than 10 minutes. And they definitely will never know that you’re “this close” to finding a cure for cancer. The recruitment process will begin and end with a glance at your Twitter, Facebook or Instagram or Snapchat page, without you ever knowing it.
What not to do on social media (if you want a job – ever)
If you want a job, here a few social media mistakes you’ll want to avoid. Then again, if you want to live in your mom’s basement forever, have at it!
- Post photos of you drinking (with or without a Sharpie mustache)
“Come on. I’m sure these people [prospective employers] party once in a while. They get it,” you say. Maybe. But even if they do, they don’t publicize evidence of their drunken exploits. Keep in mind that would-be employers don’t know you or your drinking habits. They don’t know that you weren’t “really” drunk, or that it was your sister’s wedding or that your fraternity/sorority made you do it. And they don’t care. Social media is an extension of who you are, and you are telling your potential boss two things. First, drinking is a predominant part of your life. Second, you like to brag about how much you drink (a sure testament of your maturity). Would you hire you?
- Be a negative Nancy
“I hate my life!” you post (in all caps) for weeks on end, along with every detail about the sources of your anguish and the targets of your ire. “But nothing was going right, and my boyfriend broke up with me, and the only thing that kept me from losing my mind was venting to my people,” you say. A nonstop stream of “woe is me” tweets and Facebook posts spell trouble to most hiring managers. Employers (and people) hate drama queens. While you may be a generally calm, practical and levelheaded person, and this emotional rampage might have been out of character for you, you won’t have the chance to explain that to your potential boss because the hiring manager deleted your résumé while you were reading this. If you must vent, keep it off the Internet. Pick up your phone and text or call your friends.
