Social media. It’s powerful. But just how powerful? Does it have the power to render you unemployable?
Maybe, but if it does, we shouldn’t really blame Facebook or Twitter, should we? Technically, it was your roommate who posted those photos of you after a full night of partying. But that shouldn’t have anything to do with your job, should it? Your personal life is your personal life and you can party all you want, right? Wrong.
Facebook and Twitter are quickly becoming favorite “follow up” hot spots for employers looking for quality job candidates. Whether it’s right or wrong, your Facebook status updates and tweets tell a lot about your personality, your personal integrity, and your level of maturity.
Let’s say your resume reads like an answer to prayer to a potential employer. You’ve got the skills, the experience, the personality, –he’s just about sold. But just out of curiosity he looks you up on Facebook….Horror. Instead of family photos, trips to the beach and a few cute pictures of your dog, he finds a bashing session about your ex-boyfriend. As he continues to read, he also finds you complaining about your last job, your last employer, and your pay. Wow, you even posted the company name.
Guess what? You’ve just been labeled a “potential problem employee” and your resume has suddenly found it’s way to the bottom of the stack.
How to Keep Your Private Social Sharing Private
Listen, we get it. We realize not everyone is going to post motivating, happy, inspiring status updates. It’s a free country with freedom of speech and if you choose to make your complaints known to your Facebook friends, great. It’s your life. But here’s a few pointers to keep you off the unemployment statistics:
- Turn off public availability on Facebook
- Try not to post derogatory or negative things on Twitter. Anyone can follow you, unless you lock your Twitter account and choose to approve all followers.
- Be sure your photos are private and all albums are set to “friends only” and not “friends of friends” or “everyone.”
- Set your tagging parameters so no one can tag you in a photo without your permission.
- Or, as a different approach, you could be more positive, stop complaining, and clean up your life a little.
That last option was just the “mom” coming out in me. But seriously, stop sabotaging yourself. The other day I saw an entrepreneur who happens to be an independent contractor complaining about all the work she had to do for the day. Last month she was complaining that she didn’t have a job. Now she’s complaining about too much work. Can you see my point? These aren’t good patterns.
Whichever way you choose to go, we hope you’ll realize the true power of social media. It can help you or it can harm you. The choice is yours!
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Speaking of social media, we’d love for you to keep up with the latest Tampa, Orlando, Sarasota, and Clearwater job openings by liking our Facebook Page. We’ll also keep you motivated with our daily posts, job tips, and plenty more. Whether you’re looking for temporary employment, temp to permanent, or a full time career, let our professional staffing services professionals help you. We have three convenient locations to serve you.
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