Social Media Updating Tips for Your Job Search

 

Social Media Updating Tips for Your Job SearchDuring the screening and hiring process, employers will scope you out online at some point. Even the most private things can surface if you’re not careful. Personal status updates, tweets with sensitive information, and scathing rants on your blog – all of these can have an impact on your chances of landing a job.

 

To keep your social media output free from these issues, here are some things you need to keep in mind:

1. Simply say no to drugs.

One of the most damaging things you can do when looking for a job is referencing illegal drugs. According to a survey by Jobvite in 2013, more than 80% of recruiters automatically felt unimpressed after seeing mention of illegal drugs on an applicant’s social update. To avoid this, stay away from any reference to drugs (even if it’s a joke); otherwise, you’ll run the risk of ruining your reputation.

 

2. Keep your sexual desires to yourself.

Flaunting your prurient interests on your social media accounts is a major no-no when you’re searching for a job. Tweets or posts about sexual matters may be funny to your friends and colleagues, but not to your future bosses or employers. Most likely, it will only be offensive and damaging, keep your lewd thoughts out of your social networking stream.

3. When you drink, you don’t have to tell.

If you drink, don’t share it with everyone online. Drinking and driving don’t mix – we all know that – and the same goes for drinking and then sharing photos or status updates about it when you’re looking for a job. Your best bet is to simply keep your profile alcohol-free.

4. Don’t swear.

Employers typically have little tolerance for people using profanity online. Status updates that contain profanity are not impressive; it’s unprofessional and offensive, and it’s not tolerated in the workplace. Whatever you need to express, do it without bad words.

5. Check your spelling.

If you think that your status updates don’t have to be typo-free, you’re wrong. As a professional, you still have to keep your posts grammatically correct. When recruiters check your profiles and see misspelled words or grammatically incorrect sentences, they’ll think you don’t pay attention to details and have poor writing skills.

6. Showing off your guns is not impressive.

While people’s beliefs on gun ownership vary, many hiring entities view references to guns negatively. If you have one, conceal that weapon and don’t talk about it or display pictures of it publicly. The last thing you need is for potential employers to be afraid of you.

The point is, be careful about what you share and post online. Always remember that someone is checking on you, especially when you’re applying for jobs. Don’t give future employers an easy reason to turn you down.

 

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Alan Carniol

Alan is the creator of Interview Success Formula, a training program that has helped more than 80,000 job seekers to ace their interviews and land the jobs they deserve. Interviewers love asking curveball questions to weed out job seekers. But the truth is, most of these questions are asking about a few key areas. Learn more about how to outsmart tough interviewers by watching this video.