Digital Footprints: How Social Media can Affect your Job Prospects

When you think about it, employers know a lot about you. Your name, your number, your address, what you’re doing now, what you were doing last month… And this is all before they have even met you. You gave all this information freely on your CV. What isn’t spoken about is the information you haven’t consciously given to them, but they still have access to. What isn’t spoken about is your digital history and how is has become the new CV. In one survey, it was revealed that “47% of employers check social networking sites to screen prospective employees immediately after receiving their job application” with “Facebook checked by 76% of employers, followed by Twitter (53%) and LinkedIn (48%)”.

Why do employers look at my online presence anyway?

This is a good question. The employer has posted a job opening, you have answered all their questions and given them everything they have asked for. What more do they need to know?

Nowadays, a larger percentage of have degrees and an even larger percentage of people have experience. When an employer is hiring, most people that apply do fit the criteria; they have the minimum qualifications and the relevant experience required for the role. Realistically any in that pile of applications can do the job. ‘Are they the right fit?’ is the question. My looking at your digital footprint, an employer can see whether you fit in with the culture of the company as well as if you could work well with the team. They want to build an overall picture of your personality. Think about it. Interviewees are on their best behaviour during job interviews, which makes it hard for hiring managers to determine if they’re really a good organisational fit. That’s why employers are turning to social media to get a better look at who candidates actually are.

What can I do about this?

Well. The first thing you shouldn’t do is freak out and delete everything. Some “68% of employers have hired a candidate because of something they saw about them on a social networking site” and as well as that there is always hope! You have to be aware. Whilst the odd swear word, poor bit of spelling or drunken photo of you at University won’t phase anyone (employers recognise that you’ve got a personality!), you need to bear in mind the consistent pattern your profile generates. If it’s mostly posts about your cat, you’re fine. But some employers will be turned off profiles that use excessive swearing, posts during work hours, controversial strong opinions or personal attacks. It is important to portray the best version of yourself.

· Think about what you’re posting: You don’t necessarily need to follow the ‘would you want your Grandma to see this?’ rule but bear in mind whether it’s something you’d want a prospective new boss to see if you know they’re on the lookout.

· Check your privacy: Facebook and Twitter both have comprehensive privacy settings, but a staggering 13 million Facebook users don’t bother adding any protection to their profiles. Your tweets can be set to ‘private’, meaning only your picture and bio can be viewed and users need to request to follow you and see all content. But remember, as I said in my previous blog, you want your LinkedIn profile to be as visible as possible!

· Sense and Sensibility: It really is a case of using your common sense when it comes to social media. Be aware employers will look for you so don’t post detrimental statuses about your current company or co-workers. If you have them, delete or untag any unsavoury photos, posts or groups your part of and make sure you have a friendly profile picture which wasn’t taken in the small hours of Saturday morning.

· Use REVYOU, an online tool that scans your CV as well as your online presence and marks you across ten categories. You then get a DigiScore™️ which you can break down and review where and what needs improvement. We use the same machine learning and data algorithms that employers use to review your CV and social media profile event before they meet you.

Don’t take the chance! Put your best digital footprint forward.

(Many parts of this are adapted from Ingrid Smejkal’s post on sandersonplc.com)