This is part of our "Recruiter Clinic" mini series where I ask various people "What is the question you are asked the most often? What is the answer you give?"
This is the response from Callum Saunders
Question "Does my social media usage impact my future recruitment prospects?"
Answer: Yes, unfortunately it does.
Many people still consider Social Media as a ‘new’ thing. But in reality, a very large percentage of us are using sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube every single day.
Research shows that over 50% of employers look at a potential recruit’s Social Media presence during the hiring process. Whilst this is a frowned-upon practice (and one that Germany has recently drafted law to try and combat), there are plenty of simple steps that you can take to protect yourself from those who continue to vet your application based on Social Media sites!
One of the most obvious, but overlooked pieces of advice, is quite simply, use some common sense! If you are going for an interview with company X and don’t want company Y to know, don’t tweet about it or set it as your Facebook status! Ask yourself whether you’d be happy for your boss – or a prospective employer – to see what you are saying. If the answer’s no, then don’t write it!
Similarly, privacy settings are there to protect you – use them! So many people leave their online profiles open to view, when a simply delve into settings will allow you to lock down your content and ensure your potential manager doesn’t see those pictures of you on last week’s messy stag do!
I have written a document detailing the various Social Media dos and don’ts for job seekers, which is available here: http://blog.stopgapgroup.co.uk/2010/08/top-tips-for-positive-social-media.html
Remember, Social Media is there to be enjoyed – just ensure that you employ some of the advice contained within this guide to ensure that the social footprint you leave is a positive one!
Callum Saunders is Digital Marketing Manager at The Stopgap Group. You can follow him on Twitter and connect with him on http://www.linkedin.com/in/callumsaunders.
He’ll also be at our next networking event – so you can say hi there!
My settings are set so high no one can find me unless they add my husband first and then click through his page to me. It pays off, cuz I really don’t want anyone at work up in my personal businesses on Facebook.