How Social Profiles Affect Hiring

Social media holds great power. Social media sites are platforms that broadcast material that serves both entertainment and information. Job seekers, employees, and hiring managers are benefiting themselves with the power of social media. 

What you post on social media replicates your personality. It can have a serious impact on your professional life. Nowadays hiring managers make sure that with a resume they check the candidate’s social media profile also. A survey revealed that 70% of employers go through candidates’ social media profiles. Apart from the resume, social media profile is an add-on factor while recruiting. Through the profiles, employers get to know what type of person they are hiring for their company. According to a report, 43% of managers use social media to check on their current employees. 

Social Media – An Opportunity for Job Seekers

Social media platforms have opened a door for job seekers to showcase their talent. Platforms like LinkedIn, Glassdoor, CareerBuilder, deal with employment. Apart from these platforms Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are the main platforms employer checks. 85% of recruiters responded to the job opening on Facebook. While Instagram and Twitter had the attention of 40% of recruiters. 

Employers are free to check their social media profile as it gives them more information about the candidate. There is nothing negative in this point because employers are not always checking the profile to reject but to find a reason to hire someone. A study has shown that 50% of employers ensure the candidate’s professional online persona. Checking social media profiles not only gives reasons to managers to hire someone but also gives chances to candidates to take advantage of their online creativity. Candidates can upload their achievements, internships, test scores, and many more academic-related posts that will attract employers. 

Credits- Canva

The Social Recruiting Statistics

In this era of digitalization, where everything is online, it is no surprise that social media platforms are preferred most for employment. According to Glassdoor, 79% of job seekers use social media to search for a job. They say that professional networks are the most useful resource for job search. Recruitment through social media has increased. 84% of organizations use them for hiring while 9% are planning to use them. Hosting a job listing via social media is a feasible way to reach out directly to people who are seeking a particular job role.

Almost 91% of companies are preferring social media to hire talented candidates. Although not everyone keeps their social profiles updated as the current situation, judging them completely with a profile may not be always appreciated.  It does have a negative impact too. 28% of employers have accepted that they have fired people for using the internet during working hours or dismissed them for posting something inappropriate. Millennials are changing social recruitment practices.

Use social media to Your Benefit

The increased use of social media in the past few years has made it obvious that people do search for the person online who they are meeting. In such cases, employers making a background search by checking the social media profiles of candidates is most likely. 52% of the employers have admitted that while going through profiles, they found fewer perfect spellings and grammar. Some companies even hire separately paid services for social media-based background checks.

Job candidates should make sure to post their achievements well versed. Sharing the updates adds a positive impact on the profile. Connecting to more HRs and companies will help to know more about job openings. Especially when the account is open on any social media platform try to keep it professional. The candidate should present himself in a good way out there. Whether it is an employer or job seeker, social media presence has extended to everyone’s career. 

What To Avoid on Social Media Profiles?

Human resource departments are using social media to get more access to candidate information. While the social profile has some positive effects while the hiring process, it has some uncertain consequences too. Although social media profile check is only an add-on to personal interviews, still it manages to provide the best insights. Employers do not search profiles to find anything negative but while searching they find something unpleasant that leads to rejection. Social media is one of the important tools in terms of career search for job seekers.

Job candidates should avoid posting inappropriate or provocative photographers. That violates decency. Posting about drinking or using drugs does not give a positive impression. Also, avoid posting about anything that goes against the resume. These are just some suggestions for job seekers. Do not ease up on ensuring that the online presence is positive. Even when the candidate gets the job, keep the profile professional. Sometimes misunderstanding leads to big wrong decisions. When everything is judged by one’s social profile, then keeping the online presence positive becomes a must.

No doubt that social media gives ample opportunity to job seekers but it can be a slippery slope if it is used for background checks during the hiring process.

Conclusion  

Having a social profile check while hiring is not illegal until and unless the account is public. Since the social media background check is legal for employers, job seekers can make separate accounts, one as a professional account and another as a personal account. Having two different accounts will keep the candidate on the safe side. A public account where all the professional and informative posts will be uploaded will give a positive online presence. Whereas in a private account, job seekers can lock their posts and allow a selected number of individuals. 

Social profiles are so valued today at the time of recruiting. 48% of the employers believe that it is important to review social media presence as it reflects the personality of an individual that has been built professionally. A bit of fair advice if the account is public, play it professional.

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