Job Hunting: Your Social Media is Your New Reference. The personal reference for a job is a key part of the hiring process. Many applications now ask for your Social Media “handles” for this reason. Hint: if you give one handle, they have all your handles, even your secret ones.
Bad Reference
More than once, when I have been involved in hiring someone, I have checked the person’s references, only to find out that the reference:
- Doesn’t know the person who used them as a reference and thus doesn’t have much to say about them.
- Doesn’t know the person used them as a reference, is annoyed and thus gives a bad reference.
- The person doesn’t even remember the person
The importance of a solid personal and job reference is the cornerstone of any job application. What is now supplanting the reference as the major impediment for folks who are qualified to get hired, is your Social Media Page(s).
Social Networks?
If you enjoy Social Networking sites like Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram or whatever, remember that whatever you put there, future employers are going to see it as well. Many folks think that if you set the privacy capabilities of these sites to a very private setting, outside folks will not see it, but I can assure you that anything you put on a Social Media site will be visible to folks who want to see it. I’ll repeat it. Facebook Page is Your New Reference!
What kind of silliness have I heard of causing folks not to get a job?
- Having a Twitter account and “bad-mouthing” former employers (or current employers), on the site. If I hire you and see that, my first thought is, “What are they going to say about our company?”.
- Pictures of you at a party “having a good time”. As a future employer, do I start to wonder whether you are a reliable employee or a party animal?
- Other pictures: When did posting pictures of yourself in your underwear or less, become normal? An employer sees that and says (out loud), “Indiscrete employees if they post this, why should I trust them to keep any company secrets”. Remember if you are “tagged” in a Facebook picture, even if it is not yours, you are in trouble.
These are just a couple of the exciting ways you can thwart your job applications.
What do I do?
How do I find out what others can find out about me?
- Google your name and see what others can see (without looking very hard).
- Comb through your social media sites and see what is there (and look from a future employer’s point of view)
If you have some bad stuff out there, get rid of it as best you can. If you are lucky, they are lazy and don’t know about Internet Archives.
Remember, Social Media is Your New Reference.
Other Job Hunting Tips
- The one thing you must start with first when searching for a new job is activating your network of contact.
- Your Social media is now your reference for job hunting. Let that one soak in.
- A long list of short sentences with Job Hunting tips worth looking at this one.
- Dress like you are going to a job fair and not like you are going to the beach.
social media can really be a good boost when looking for a job.This guide really helps when it comes to making a good profile that your employer can have a look at.One just needs to avoid the mistakes mentioned and all will be good.Be the best you can be!
I think posting something online and expecting it to be “private” is kind of a silly concept. Of course it won’t be private, you just posted it on the “world wide web”!
Thank goodness I don’t get up to very much mischief, online or otherwise. If any future employer checks out my Facebook, at worst they’ll think I’m just too boring for the job!
I Google myself pretty often (does it sound less narcissistic if I mention I work in media?)
Honestly, people simply need to assume everything they put out online is totally public. There should be no need in this day and age, years after social media hit the big time, to remind anyone of this.
We shouldn’t have to, yet I still find excellent examples every day, of how NOT to do things on line.