In Part 1 of this series, we presented some social media mistakes that could cost you your dream job (or any job, for that matter). In this continuation of our two-part Internet news series on the subject, we offer a few more blunders that will almost certainly cause any hiring manager to light your résumé on fire in an attempt to forget your very existence.
Post naked, sexually explicit or inappropriate photos
Forty-six percent of employers rejected job applicants because they found provocative or inappropriate photos on their social media pages, according to a 2014 CareerBuilder report. “But I posted it on Snapchat, so it’s not even on the Internet anymore,” you defend. Maybe. Maybe not. But consider this. Your friend may have captured it with a screenshot or through a third-party app before it self-destructed. Will she repost it? Maybe. Maybe not. Will he share it with “only” his best friend? Likely. Will his best friend share it with his best friend? Probably. Will a potential employer stumble upon it in a few days, weeks, months or years, after someone has posted and tagged it? Hmm. You won’t know until you know. Are you willing to take that chance? Once it’s out there, you can never take it back. And there is no explanation on earth to explain this away (and, no, it doesn’t matter how hot you think you are). For the love of everything, even that special someone… Just. Don’t. Do it.
Badmouth your current (or former) employer
We touched on this briefly in the first part of this series, but we just can’t say it enough. Resist the urge to complain about your boss online. It will never end well – for you. “But my boss was really mean. I’m talking ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ mean, and people should know about it!” you protest. Ah, no. No. No. No. Let us reiterate a point made in Part 1: The only thing employers know about you is what they find online. They don’t know that you’re actually a strong, independent thinker who accepts criticism as a learning experience and not the whiny baby you’ve portrayed yourself as in your latest blog post, “Ode to the Meanest Boss Ever,” and its accompanying YouTube monologue (because writing about it just wasn’t cathartic enough). If that doesn’t deter you, keep in mind that if hiring managers see you lamenting your boss or company, they’ll assume that you’ll be bashing them too, at some point, and that you’re a gossip who can’t be trusted with company secrets.
Overshare personal information
The majority of people 16 to 34 years old design their social media pages to appeal to friends rather than prospective employers, On Device Research reported in a recent survey. With an increasing number of employers using social media research as a means to evaluate job candidates, according to CareerBuilder, you might want to avoid sharing emotionally charged political opinions and play-by-plays or “he said/she said” dialogue about your latest (or in-progress) breakup. And about that third photo that you’re getting ready to upload to your Instagram gallery entitled “Infected Boil on My Hand,” just… no (and think about deleting the first two pictures).
“Online reputation management and mitigation companies are a booming business because people just can’t stop posting things they shouldn’t, which often have long-term negative effects on their personal and professional lives,” Robert Siciliano, an online security expert for McAfee, told Fox Business.
Here is one good basic social media rule to follow. Before you tweet, post or upload anything to a social media site, ask yourself if you would share the content in a meeting with a potential employer. Would you walk into an interview, pull up a shirtsleeve and ask the hiring manager, “Want to see my boil?” If your answer is yes, and you smell something burning as you leave the interview… it’s your résumé – and your future.
