Looking for a new job? 93% of hiring managers review your social media profiles before they’ll consider hiring you. Are your profiles telling the right story? If not, your chances for getting that job you want might be zilch.
The infographic at the end of this post provides a bunch of data that you should know before you start your next job search. Most importantly, your social media profiles matter — a lot. Did you know that 55% of hiring managers have reconsidered a candidate solely based on what they found in the candidate’s social media profiles? You don’t want that to happen to you!
[clickToTweet tweet=”Most employers go through your #socialmedia profiles before interviewing or hiring you.” quote=”Most employers go through your #socialmedia profiles before interviewing or hiring you.”]
Hiring Managers Really Do Look at Your Social Media Profiles
You want your social media profiles to enhance your job search, not destroy it. And don’t think that LinkedIn is the only social media platform that matters when you’re looking for a job. 18% of hiring managers pre-screen job candidates on Twitter before they even schedule an interview!
Yes, LinkedIn is used most often by recruiters (94%), but your entire online presence provides valuable information that hiring managers will review. For example, 66% of recruiters search for candidates on Facebook and 52% search on Twitter.
Furthermore, recruiters actually hire through social media with 79% doing so through LinkedIn, 26% hiring through Facebook, and 14% hiring through Twitter. When they’re searching for candidates and reviewing your social media profiles before bringing you in for an interview, they’re looking for answers to a variety of questions, including:
- What is your background?: 46%
- Do you have a professional image?: 44%
- Will you fit the company’s culture?: 43%
- Are you well-rounded with a variety of interests?: 40%
- Do you have good communication skills?: 36%
Your Current Employer Is Probably Looking at Your Social Media Profiles, Too
Even your current employer is likely to be looking at your social media profiles. As the infographic below shows, 41% of employers research current employees on social media sites while 32% use search engines to keep tabs on current employees. In fact, 26% of employers have fired or reprimanded an employee based on content found online.
Social Media Mistakes to Avoid if You want to Get a New Job or Keep Your Current Job
Based on the data in the infographic, here are the seven biggest social media mistakes that can cost you a job:
- Drugs: 83% of recruiters will reconsider you for the job.
- Sex: 70% of recruiters will reconsider you for the job.
- Profanity: 63% of the time, recruiters will reconsider you for the job.
- No Online Presence: 41% of recruiters are less likely to interview you if they can’t find any information about you online.
- Racism or Sexism: 33% of the time, recruiters will turn you down for the job.
- Aggressive or Derogatory Remarks about Your Previous Employer: 31% of the time, recruiters will turn you down for the job.
- Poor Communication Skills: 29% of the time, recruiters will turn you down for the job for poor grammar, spelling, etc.
Your Next Steps
No matter what, your next steps should be to clean up your social media profiles (if necessary) or create your profiles (if you don’t have any yet). Don’t publish questionable content or allow friends and connections to mention you or tag you in inappropriate content. Review the privacy options within each social media platform and adjust the settings if necessary.
Most importantly, Google yourself. What do you find? Are the results representative of the professional image you want to show employers? Do your social media profiles tell the right story? If not, start fixing them right now!
Source: Rawhide.org
Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women on Business. She is a 30-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored a dozen books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).
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