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Saige Driver
Business News Daily Contributing Writer
Updated Nov 01, 2021
Employers look at social media accounts for an array of reasons, but many want to
make sure a candidate will be a good fit with their company.
"Because we tend to view our personal social media accounts as being 'personal,'
there's a good chance that by viewing someone's profile, you'll get a glimpse into
their personality beyond the resume," said DeeAnn Sims, founder of Dark Horse PR.
"The three main platforms that most employers check are LinkedIn, Facebook and
Twitter," said Matt Erhard, senior partner at Summit Search Group. "I am personally
most interested in the candidate's LinkedIn profile, as it's the most relevant."
Most employers view LinkedIn as a secondary resume and other social media sites
such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as more personal.
About half of employers – 47% – said they wouldn't call a person for an interview if
they can't find them online. More than one-quarter of employers say it's because
they like to gather more information before calling a candidate, and 20% say it's
because they expect candidates to have an online presence.
"Whether it's intentional or not, this [not having a profile] always feels like you have
something to hide," said Sims. "Either you've specifically taken steps to make sure
you can't be found or you're using a childish byname – neither of which feels very
professional."
In addition to seeming like you're trying to hide something, it's not a good idea to
delete your profile, because it doesn't guarantee the data is completely gone.
Instead, it's best practice to keep your social accounts clean.
"Erasing all of your profiles often implies that you have something to hide," said
Dana Case, director of operations at MyCorporation.com. "Many LinkedIn or
Instagram accounts may still show up in Google searches [after you delete them],
even on a cached basis."
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The CareerBuilder study found that 58% of employers conduct social screenings to
look for information supporting a candidate's qualifications for the job – 50% want to
ensure the candidate has a professional online persona, and 34% want to see what
other people are posting about the candidate. Just 24% of those surveyed check
social media to search for reasons not to hire someone.
Having their social media pages investigated has paid off for many job seekers.
Specifically, 37% of hiring managers said they found information supporting the
candidate's professional qualifications, and 33% were impressed with the
candidate's professional image. Additionally, 34% thought a candidate displayed
excellent creativity.
To learn more about what to post online to optimize your job search, read our guide.
"I have heard of employers asking candidates to provide their password and login
credentials for social media," said Erhard. "This is not technically illegal in many
places, though in my mind, it's an uncomfortable invasion of privacy."
It should raise red flags if a company asks for this information, and you should
consider withdrawing your application.
"For me, as an employer and recruiter, I'm concerned primarily with the candidate's
public social media presence," Erhard explained.
Since it's legal for employers to check public social media accounts, consider making
personal accounts private.
"One of the best strategies I have seen is creating multiple, separate social media
accounts on social media platforms," Case said. "Job seekers may have a
professional Instagram account, for instance, where they share their office and work
wins. They may also have a more private personal account that is locked and only
allows a select number of individuals to follow it."
"There are companies that run social media-based background checks, but that is a
separate paid service," said Erhard. "While I'm aware of its existence, I don't
personally know any employers who have utilized that kind of service."
According to the survey, these are the leading types of posts and behavior that left
employers with a bad impression:
1. Job candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photographs, videos or
information: 40%
2. Job candidate posted information about them drinking or using drugs: 36%
3. Job candidate had discriminatory comments related to race, gender, religion,
etc.: 31%
4. Job candidate was linked to criminal behavior: 30%
5. Job candidate lied about their qualifications: 27%
6. Job candidate had poor communication skills: 27%
7. Job candidate bad-mouthed their previous company or fellow employees:
25%
8. Job candidate's screen name was unprofessional: 22%
9. Job candidate shared confidential information from previous employers: 20%
10. Job candidate lied about an absence: 16%
11. Job candidate posted too frequently: 12%
The CareerBuilder study was based on surveys of more than 1,000 hiring managers
and human resource professionals across a variety of industries and company sizes
in the private sector.
Additional reporting by Nicole Fallon and Chad Brooks. Some source interviews
were conducted for a previous version of this article.
Saige Driver
Business News Daily Contributing Writer
Saige received her bachelor's degree in journalism and telecommunications from
Ball State University. She is the social media coordinator for Aptera and also
writes for business.com and Business News Daily. She loves reading and her
beagle mix, Millie.