Preparing Your Social Media for Job Applications

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The Graph:

Jobvite’s 2017 Recruiter Nation Report reflects the opinions of more than 800 recruiters. Within the survey is a section on recruiters’ opinions of social media profiles. Respondents identify both positive and negative aspects of what a candidate posts on social media. The responses shown in this graph primarily highlight red flags, which make recruiters cautious about proceeding with the interview process.

The Message:

If you’re applying for jobs, anything and everything you post on the internet is fair game when it comes to your assessment. Just because you only sent the company a cover letter and a resume doesn’t mean they won’t do some googling and find your Facebook pictures or Twitter rants.

Recruiters love seeing evidence of your work on social media, and that includes volunteer efforts. It makes you stand out as a professional with potential. Having mutual connections can’t hurt, but you’re less likely to be able to control that.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are quite a few elements that can set off alarm bells. Best to avoid pictures of substance use. Political rants are also frowned upon, particularly because your opinions may contrast with those of the recruiter or even the company, which can be a strong turn off. Posting selfies was once considered to be undesirable, but only 7% of recruiters now find selfies to be off-putting.

So if you make your social media profiles public, think carefully about how they portray you as a professional. Curate them, if necessary, before applying for jobs; they may very well be your first impression to a recruiter, and you want to put your best foot forward!