Your activity on social media and any mention of your name impacts your online reputation. Social recruiting has made it vitally important that you monitor and manage your online reputation because employers are searching for you online!
Back in 2006, CareerBuilder reported that only 11% of recruiters used social media. Today, 70% of recruiters and HR professionals say they use social media as part of the hiring process. Here’s CareerBuilder’s press release from June 15 2017.
To help you understand just how important social media is to HR departments, 30% now have someone dedicated to social recruiting and all its elements (sharing openings, candidate research and managing company career communities).
Where Do They Look
70% use social media account like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. They are checking out any and all social media accounts, especially those you draw attention to.
But they don’t stop there. 69% of HR professionals are also searching Google, Bing and Yahoo search engines using your name.
Monitor every mention of your name online by setting up Google Alerts (Me On The Web). Learn more about monitoring your online visibility here. Also turn in tag notifications on Facebook and Instagram so you can be alerted why someone mentions your account.
Why Are They Looking For
The reason HR and recruiters are looking for information about candidates online is that they know there will be information there. And this information will help them better understand the candidates- professionally and personally.
Before you assume the worst, only 24% are looking for a reason NOT to hire you. HR professionals want to find the good stuff about candidates like:
- validating your qualifications (61%)
- if you have a professional online persona (50%) and
- what other people are posting about you (37%).
What Works and What Doesn’t
The good news is that 44% of HR professionals were positively influenced by what they found online about a candidate. The bad news is that 54% HR professionals were swayed against hiring a candidate based on what they discovered online.
Remember, you own your social media accounts, but nothing is private or off limits so be sure to watch what you post and carefully monitor the posts you are tagged in.
To better understand the reasons why the candidates were eliminated due to their social media activity, here’s what CareerBuilder reports:
- 39% due to provocative or inappropriate photographs, videos or information
- 38% due to information about them drinking or using drugs
- 32% due to discriminatory comments related to race, gender, religion
- 3o% due to bad-mouthing their previous company or fellow employee
- 27% due to lying about qualifications
- 27% due to poor communication skills
- 26% due to link to criminal behavior
- 23% due to sharing confidential information from previous employers
- 22% due to screen name was unprofessional
- 17% due to lying about an absence
- 17% due to posting too frequently
Again, whatever you post reflects on you. You can turn all this around by interjecting status updates that better illustrate your professionalism and personality. Use this formula:
You can read more about developing a status update strategy here – 10 LinkedIn Status Updates for Job Seekers (and these ideas will work on every other social media platform too!)
Your Online Reputation Is Impacted by the Growth of Social Recruiting [Infographic]
Hannah Morgan speaks and writes about job search and career strategies. She founded CareerSherpa.net to educate professionals on how to maneuver through today’s job search process. Hannah was nominated as a LinkedIn Top Voice in Job Search and Careers and is a regular contributor to US News & World Report. She has been quoted by media outlets, including Forbes, USA Today, Money Magazine, Huffington Post, as well as many other publications. She is also author of The Infographic Resume and co-author of Social Networking for Business Success.
