Be Caution Of What Your Social Media Profile(s) Could Be Saying About You.

Have you ever worried if your online behavior would come back to bite you?  Have you lost out on a potential job because of a couple pictures you took during (or after) a Mountaineer game?  According to a recent article on Mashable.com “What Social Media Can (Really) Tell You About Job Applicants”, employers could be looking at the wrong parts of your social media profile.  It is often thought by employers that if a person has pictures of wild behavior or if they leave negative comments about their current job, that they are not good candidates for that position.  While a profile with a constant barrage drinking photos and parties is not a great look for an employer to see when visiting your social media site, it is not the only thing they should be considering.  They should look at your comments to see how you interact with others.  They look at affiliations to see how you spend your free time.  Do you interact with everyone the same or do you have a different “tone” with your friends versus just people you know.  Your social media profile shows employers whether you are extraverted, agreeable, conscientious of others, if you are emotionally stable and if you are open to new experiences.  One of the interesting points about this article was that many employers look for posts about drugs and alcohol use.  They then eliminate those candidates based on that information.  However, there has never been any study that correlates the discussion of drugs and alcohol with a person being responsible and self-disciplined.  So employers are losing out on some potentially good candidates’ base on “half information” or a one-sided-truth.

So while your support of your local football team can show potential employers that you are not afraid to drink a little and you like to have a good time, they may see this as negative behavior.  So how do we change the mindset?  I think it has to come from the employer’s side.  They need to reevaluate what they see and take all social media pages with a grain of salt.  Now if they come across a page and people are smoking illegal substances and drinking constantly and all the comments are related to “getting trashed” or finding the next party, then perhaps that person should be a “pass”.  What if employers looked at their good employees?  The employees that constantly got great reviews, good comments from co-workers, were hard workers.  If employers were to look at their social media pages, what would they find?  Would they find that Jack from Accounting loves hockey games and enjoys a few beers while he is there?  Would they find that Diane the Vice President of Marketing has an affinity to wine and enjoys sharing her knowledge of “Vino” with her friends?  Perhaps a look at some good employees would help change the mindset that if you mention alcohol or have pictures of you drinking alcohol should not immediately cut you from the running for a new job or perhaps even a promotion.  A social media page is just one side of a person and sometimes what was actually good wholesome fun, could be portrayed as negative.  So while potential job seekers should be aware of what their profiles could be saying about them, potential employers need to be cognizant of the fact that a social media page is just a small part of what a person is about.  When in doubt, ask.  If you have reservations about an employee from something found on a social media page, bring them in for an interview and ask.  At that point whatever you are asking is public knowledge.

 

Information in this blog was referenced from this article on mashable.com: What Social Media Can (Really) Tell You About Job Applicants