Staying Social

• July 26 2019

No matter your opinion on the ubiquity of social media platforms and their varying uses, we as a society are in the digital age and must adapt. We must be able to master our use of social media for the good, while also ensuring we don’t fall into the trap of letting it have a negative impact on our potential to find work.

Too often we hear of stories regarding employees being fired for inappropriate tweets or Facebook posts sent sometimes five or ten years ago. But how many stories do we not hear where a potential job candidate simply did not get hired due to the content on his or her social media pages?

While it may sound like a simple solution (e.g. simply staying off social media all together), it is unfortunately not that easy. While seeing inappropriate content on social media can disqualify you from a job, so can having no social media presence whatsoever. That is why it is important to know how to use the various forms of social media to your benefit in finding a job, and recognizing which content you should and should not post.

Advantages

As we mentioned, not all social media has to be negative, as some people might have you believe. In fact, the proper use of social media can help you land jobs faster and more effectively than your counterparts who are not active.

Social media allows you to connect with other like-minded professionals in your field to discuss a wide array of topics that can help you stay current in your career knowledge. For example, you can follow certain hashtags on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram in order to network with other professionals and engage in worthwhile conversations on relevant topics. With the proper use, it can also allow you to market yourself and get your personal brand out to the public and in the hands of hiring professionals.

By joining groups or liking pages, you show prospective employers initiative that you are willing to learn more about the industry and can stay current in the field’s happenings.

Disadvantages

Unfortunately, it is sometimes much easier to spot the disadvantages in social media, as we often see news stories about employees getting in trouble through improper use. Posting inappropriate content can be a huge detriment when finding or keeping a job. Whether this content is sexual in nature or offensive in other ways, you can truly hinder yourself from landing a job simply with the click of a button.

We also often limit our own definition of what we consider “social media.” Yes, this includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, but it also includes other websites like YouTube, Reddit, Tumblr, Twitch, and many more, in both the past and the future.

Luckily, it is easy to avoid posting inappropriate content. We have compiled a list of a few things you should avoid when it comes to posting on any social media site. Here are the things you should avoid:

• References to using illegal drugs
• Posts of sexual nature
• Liking company or group pages that are offensive
• Inappropriate content that might be construed as racial or prejudiced against certain people or groups
• Inappropriate photos or videos
• Posts of inappropriate links
• Controversial material
• Posts that can be seen as immature or insensitive
• Being friends with people who post inappropriate things
• Using a username that is offensive

Basically, just try to avoid any controversy whatsoever. And if you do have content that can be seen as controversial or inappropriate, delete it and ask your friends to refrain from tagging you in things of that nature in the future.

How to optimize your social media use

By using social media to your advantage, you can emerge head and shoulders above your peers for numerous job openings. Below, are some ways you can get ahead simply by being active on various social media pages.

• Use social media to follow, friend, and like other professionals.
• Represent yourself honestly on social media.
• Emphasize your unique strengths, knowledge, skills, and abilities in your profile.
• Participate in groups to learn about different career opportunities.
• Follow and like companies for which you would like to work.
• Always represent yourself professionally in comments and photos. Assume anyone can see anything you post, regardless of privacy settings.
• Create a professional voice greeting for employers to receive when they leave you a voicemail.
• Search for yourself online to see what others can learn about you.
• Conduct yourself professionally on social media even after you have been hired.

By simply using social media professionally, you can gain a much needed advantage when it comes to searching for a job, but if you do have concerns, you may want to double check your privacy settings to see who can see what posts and remember to keep your private life private.

To check out our various pages, you can visit our Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. The links are located on the Career Watch homepage.

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