Social Media: Job Seeking Contributor’s Discretion Advised

For the most part, humans are social beings. Long before there was written communication, people gathered together, often at communal meals, and shared stories. Culture and traditions were passed down from one generation to the next through verbal repetition. Occupational training was in-person and hands-on, for example, experienced craftsmen taught apprentices. Fathers and mothers set examples of how to run a household for their sons and daughters.

Today, many social gatherings and occupational training courses have gone digital. Stories are relayed in electronic format for people to listen to or read directly. If one is interested in the lifestyle of someone from another country they can “Google” it. If someone wants to get training or certification, they often watch a video or take a remote-learning class. Nowadays, households have electronic devices inside refrigerators, washers, and dryers. As for communal meals, there are times when a rule has to be made to put away all devices.

These changes occurred over hundreds of centuries. The internet, however, has only been in existence since the late 1960s. Furthermore, it hasn’t always been in its present format. From then until now, a lot of growth has happened. The swiftness in which this has transpired has left many companies and people struggling to keep up. Since humans tend to socialize and the internet and social media, in particular, give them a sense of immunity, if not anonymity, people often reveal things that they may not have in previous times. What many may not know, or bring to mind, is that what happens on the internet – social media, especially – goes into cyberspace, where it is difficult, if not impossible to remove.

What does all of this mean, and why should you care? That depends on the perspective from which it is viewed and what the end goal happens to be. For the purposes of this blog, the focus will be on the interconnectedness of companies, job seekers, recruiters and how they all relate to the internet and social media.

The end goal of employers is to hire candidates that fit the bill in areas, including but not limited to skill set, policy adherence, and company culture. Chiefly, the end goal of job seekers is to become employed at a company that can meet their overall needs. In particular, they wish to work where they feel comfortable and valued while obtaining a paycheck that is comparable with others in their role.

There are some intriguing behind-the-scenes interactions that occur before a hiring team and a potential candidate meet, or perhaps never meet. A knowledgeable job seeker will research a company prior to applying or accepting an invitation from a recruiter. A company’s website will often portray a clean-cut version of the company’s vision and their culture. However, reading reviews on companies based on previous and current employees’ insights might reveal something altogether different. The overall results of that research will determine next steps.

Speaking of steps, let’s take a brief step back and go over some concepts that may or may not be familiar. The chief role of hiring teams is to assist in filling open positions within a company. A hiring team could be formed through the combined effort of Human Resources Department employees and hiring managers within a company. If the opening is a hard-to-recruit role, the company may seek assistance from an outside firm that specializes in finding talent. Talent can be defined as someone unemployed seeking employment or someone employed who has the experience and knowledge base another company is seeking.

With those things understood let’s look at a couple of things that happen behind-the-scenes. After a company puts the word out that they have open positions either on their website or through a job board, applications begin to pour in. It’s a given that even if a thousand applications come in, only a limited number of applicants will be selected. This generally requires someone or a group of people within the company to begin the filtering process. Whichever way they choose to narrow things down, there are times when there will be many suitable candidates, even after rounds of interviews. Like it or not, companies could utilize a person’s social media presence, or lack thereof, to make decisions to streamline the process. This can be good or bad for potential candidates.

Some of you reading this may believe that your qualifications are enough and your social media presence shouldn’t matter. In a way, you would be right. In reality, things are not that simple. What is shared on the internet, via social media can represent an individual in an unintended way. More to the point, if a company spots negative information about someone online, a good percentage of the time, it was due to that person’s lapse of judgement. Obviously, no one has control over what someone else has to say. That applies equally to employee reviews on a company or what someone says about another person on social media. What everyone should have control over is what they, themselves, post on blogs, tweets, and other forms of social media. Some may think, “I won’t post anything, then nothing can hinder me from getting a job.” That is an option but with so many recruiters out there looking for potential candidates, you’ll be missing out on opportunities you didn’t know existed.

While what a person has put on social media in the past can be deleted, it may be better to leave it alone. Instead, work on improving situations. Show that you’ve overcome negatives – things you once did, shared, or said for which you are no longer proud. Show growth in your communication skills. Provide evidence that you are learning and growing. The icing on the proverbial cake, if you’ve grown personally and professionally, is to acknowledge that it might be time to share how you did it, so others can learn from you.

If you need to gain more insights for your particular situation or you wish to become career ready in other ways, reach out.

Blogger Credit: Lynn Hallbrooks, Staff Writer at Jobready2dey