Social Media Stalking: What Recruiters Look For?
Are employers looking at social media? According to CareerBuilder study, 70 % of recruiters use social media to screen job applicants. If you want to avoid damaging your recruitment chances then check out Alice Berg’s great tips on how you can clean up your social media and land your dream job.
Are employers looking at social media? According to CareerBuilder study, 70 % of recruiters use social media to screen job applicants. There is a possibility that your potential boss already knows what you prefer for lunch, what places you attend besides the office, where you spent your last vacation and other intimate details of your life.
Let’s admit it – we can’t hide forever. At the same time, we can use our social media accounts for our advantage. You probably heard this popular advice “Say what people expect to hear from you”. Now it’s time to SHOW what’s expected.
Facebook and Google-Stalking Photo Test
Do employers google you? If so, the first thing they see is your Facebook page and your profile photo on Google pictures, so make sure this photo is presentable. Apart from that, consider yourself lucky if recruiters you are dealing with have a look at your page, search Facebook posts you published, and leave it at that. Some employers go further asking for access to the applicant’s private pages. It has come to the point that 20 states in the USA have passed social media privacy law that prohibits employers from asking employees for any login information. Now, it’s illegal to give any private login information to the employer upon request.
Your Facebook Activity
Employers are using social media for hiring decisions, so you must audit your social presence. On Facebook, pay rapt attention to the “about me” page. Mention your career and education background. Fill up the section “details about me”. Tell more about your interests and hobbies, beliefs, and values, and mind that it must correlate with the information you’ve given in your resume and cover letter. You might also position yourself through the private and public groups managed by companies that turned your attention by leaving comments or making reposts. Recruiters will appreciate your interest in the company’s life. In addition, you will keep up to date with the recent news in the organization and find some jobs postings on Facebook since information on the vacancies is frequently posted on the social media pages. Most importantly, you will project a positive personal overall image.
“We never mount online profile search of our employees – neither newcomers nor older workers. Instead, we welcome active participation in the company’s social media life. Together with our workers we launched plenty of online projects and developed the company’s social media channels”. – says Linda Miller, HR manager at Skillroads
Land a Dream Job on Facebook
Don’t underestimate the chance to find a job using Facebook as a search platform – it’s a great place to share information and find a job opportunity. According to the latest research, 43% of recruiters use Facebook to check candidates. Success stories include people who assert that they managed to spot their jobs on Facebook. Having published some of their creative works and CVs, they saw job offers landed in the mailboxes with no effort on their part. As you can see, the relation between social media and hiring might be both harsh and beneficial.
Instagram is becoming extremely popular – it has nearly 1 billion monthly active users. Social media stalking has not left it untouched as well, so recruiters may check your account there for more private details about your life. What did you post yesterday? Was it your puppy or a provocative video from a nightclub? Try to avoid posting meaningless content. Like it or not, the Instagram stalk is inevitable if your account isn’t private. Don’t forget that recruiters may ask you to display your page even if you’ve hidden it.
Think Twice Before Tapping “Post”
Avoid posting pictures and articles of sexual nature, don’t propagate alcohol, drugs, and shooting on your Instagram account. Recruiters will love to see your active life position – traveling, family pictures, sports, and healthcare, etc. They may launch a social media background check before an interview and observe how your photos look like to understand who you are. At the same time, some HR managers say that selfies are not acceptable on professional profiles.
Followers
Prospective employers may check your audience and how friendly you’re with it. They may be interested in what type of people you attract how you answer comments and communicate with others.
Employers Search Twitter Account
Next social media profile checked by managers is your Twitter account. Here recruiters will check if you’re interested in people working in the same industry. Follow famous authoritative personalities and publishers, repost their opinions on some recent trends in the sphere you are are interested in, and comment it accordingly if you wish.
Tweets
Again, proper use of grammar and punctuation is a must. Refrain from sharing meaningless information and don’t tweet too often. Double your focus on what really matters, for example, the latest news in your industry and the world. Recruiters will check how you express your opinion and what topics excite you. Before applying for a job, check your last tweets. It’s wise to delete some of them that cause doubts.
LinkedIn and Online Hiring
LinkedIn is a powerful social media recruiting tool today. First and foremost, make sure you have a LinkedIn profile – create it yourself or use online platforms, where professionals do it for you. Employers tend to use online profile search and find employees on the Web without any efforts. Sounds easy, doesn’t it?
The appearance of Your Page
The key is in the title. It should be well-written and should sound professional. Pay attention to your display picture – let it be a simple head-and-shoulders photo. If there is a possibility, use a high-quality photo taken by a photographer.
LinkedIn Background Check
On LinkedIn, they want to see if your skills and qualifications match the open role. Don’t add any buzzwords such as “team player”. Focus on what you actually achieved in your career instead of useless adjectives that describe you. Recruiters judge you considering this piece of information. Have a look at pages of famous people who work in the same position, find a list of skills they mention regarding your dream job. Make your own list similar and suitable to the position you’re applying for.
And most importantly, don’t stress too much about checking your social media channels. Neither HR managers nor employers are planning on doing something bad. Become friends instead and enjoy each other’s content on social media.
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Great stuff! social media is the second thing recruiters look at right after checking our rsume