Social Media

dreamstime_s_33454340
Shuart
Market Insights Jan 11, 2017 0

WHAT NOT TO POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Have you ever considered how a potential employer may see you through your social media pages? In a 2015 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, over 50% of employers admitted to reviewing social media to screen job applicants. This survey revealed that 36% of employers rejected new applicants after:

  1. Discovering a lie or inconsistency in the applicant’s employment background or qualifications;
  2. Reading a post from the applicant that contained negative information about a current or previous employer;
  3. Reading an applicant’s post about his or her alcohol or drug abuse; or
  4. Seeing inappropriate photographs on an applicant’s social media page.

Although most of what you post on social media may be harmless, one improper post may affect your career. At Shuart and Associates, we want to help you land your dream job! That is why we recommend that you refrain from including any of the following content in your posts:

  • Profanity – Why wouldn’t your future employer consider the language you use on social media as the same as language you would use with your coworkers?
  • Abusive – Social media is a great place to share your opinion about current events, but if your feed is full of arguments and rants, you will not been seen as a “team player”.
  • “Adult” – While a photography of you in your bathing suit may be acceptable, make sure that is all that you “reveal”.
  • Illegal – Posting content or photographs regarding illegal activities could not only get you disqualified for a job, it could also get you in trouble. Make sure a joke among friends does not land you in a criminal investigation.
  • Offensive – Employers frown on any content that is racist, sexist or contains any other form of discrimination. Remember sharing content from others is a reflection of your own beliefs.

PRIVACY SETTINGS

Caution! There may be a loophole in your privacy settings whenever you link your cell phone number to your social media page. Whenever you “claim” your phone number, you are inadvertently agreeing to be searched on the site via that number. Therefore, if your future employer conducts a search via your confirmed cell phone number, he or she may be able to read your entire feed. To ensure your posts are really “private”, visit your settings on your social media sites periodically. Remember that social media is public. Even if you restrict your social media posts to “private”, once you post, the content is out of your control and potentially can be used against you in the future.

Tags

Related Blogs