In today’s world everyone has at least one social media account. This shows how much social media has gained popularity especially among youth. With this rise, an increasing number of companies are utilizing it to screen job prospects which means they check their potential employee’s social media account. So, make sure your social media profiles are appropriate for work because it could possibly have negative impact on your work life. It has the potential to cost you your present work as well as future career chances. According to a poll conducted by career builder in 2018, the result depicted that 70% of employers use social media to evaluate candidates throughout the recruiting process, while 43% use it to check on current employees.
Employers examine social media accounts for a variety of reasons, but the most common one is to ensure that a candidate is a good match for their firm. they do so because social media accounts allow them to get a look of a person’s personality outside of their resume, which aids them in finding the best candidate for their company.
However, Before relying on any information obtained from social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn, it’s vital to understand that there are several flaws to be wary of. When checking a candidate’s social media history, employers and HR professionals should be cautious. A social media history should only be evaluated as part of a comprehensive background check on job applicants. A criminal history record, as well as academic and job verifications, should all be included in a background check that can easily be done by hiring a third-party who is good in running background checks on applicants.
Everyone who is seeking for a job or will be applying in the future should examine their social media profiles and not entirely delete their online presence. Because as per statistics 47% Employers do not call people for interviews if they can’t locate them online. More than a quarter of employers say they like to acquire more information before phoning a candidate, and 20% say they expect candidates to have an online presence. so, deleting a social media account out of fear of shame is a no-no. you can simple keep it clean anyway.
Now, the question of privacy comes into play. So, Employers are perfectly legal to examine public social media platforms, but anything beyond public accounts is a murky area. As long as the employer has access to public information that everyone can see, there should be no privacy concerns. But a major pitfall is that A social media search, on the other hand, cannot provide a check on the authenticity or veracity of the material. As with any other background or reference check, the information obtained through social media must be checked for accuracy because a person’s whole career is dependent on that 1 job. Employers should use extreme caution when using social media searches to gather information about job candidates. At the absolute least, companies should consult their attorneys before obtaining information for employment reasons via social media.
As per the data collected, following are the types of posts and behaviors that left a negative impression on employers. It is essential to know this because more than half of the employers i.e. 57% polled claimed that they discovered something through their social screenings that caused them to reject a candidate.
| Provocative or improper photos, videos, or information were shared by a job candidate: 40% |
| job applicants disclosed details regarding their drinking or drug use: 36% |
| Discriminatory remarks on color, gender, religion, and other factors were made by a job candidate: 31% |
| The following job contender was related to illegal activity: 30% |
| An applicant for a job lied about their qualifications: 27% |
| Candidate’s communication abilities were poor: 27% |
| A job seeker slandered their prior employer or coworkers: 25% |
| The screen name of a job seeker was unprofessional: 22% |
| Former employers’ private information was disclosed by a job candidate: 20% |
| Candidate for a job lied about an absence: 16% |
| Candidate postings are very frequent: 12% |
Professionals should not take any shortcuts when it comes to establishing a positive internet presence once they have landed a job. According to the survey, 48% of companies visit social networking sites to do background checks on existing employees and as per sources they had fired them too. So one seeking job or an employee should keep his/her social media accounts clean in order to secure their jobs.
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