Social media..social media, developed for the purpose of connecting family, friends and even long lost relatives, has become such an important part of our lives we can't imagine life without it. For those of us in our teens and twenties, we never knew what it was like before it existed, and for those of us in our thirties, forties and older we can't remember what we did that was ever this amusing! Indeed, through social media we have seen the rise and demise of many talented and influential people: celebrities, religious leaders, politicians and even business moguls.
It can be an unforgiving space...share something and you may get more than you bargained for in the form of not so nice comments. One thing we can't deny though, social media platforms have evolved to be more than just a click, like and comment experience. And...beyond finding and making friends, we can find other just as important things on the internet via social media sites such as Facebook.
As social networks evolved and added more features they have gained more attention from businesses who want to cash in on the ever growing audience they are able to pull in. Almost every aspiring business has a Facebook page, a LinkedIn account and will definitely have an Instagram page. They seek to engage with existing customers and gain new customers, who not only become consumers of their products but fans.
Because it provides convenience in readily reaching an engaged audience (it's a much cheaper marketing tool than traditional media), social media has therefore become an important component in many businesses' recruiting process.
You see, companies have realised that with the increasing popularity of social networks it's much more convenient and cheaper to reach YOU! And in recent years, some businesses have decided to do their recruiting online using these sites as the vehicle to find suitable candidates.
Image is Everything
Depending on who you talk to folks will say social media is harmful for you, or they will say it's just for fun. It's no big deal: you upload your pictures, share videos, memes and chat with family and friends. Most people never take a second thought about what they are sharing, what they comment and how that impacts on others and what impression others may have of them. A recent study done by University of Duisburg-Essen (Germany), indicates that "...exposure to online negativity makes our own thinking negative – reading uncivil comments can immediately increase readers’ own hostile cognitions. Reading other people’s opinions can influence our perceptions, thinking and even behaviors (Social Media Psychology)." This simply means how we view a person or topic may be influenced greatly by the opinion of others. Now, we are not saying that you should not comment on posts via social media, what we are saying is if you wish to impress an employer to hire you, you have to be more careful about how you comment. It is a real possibility that right now someone just out of curiosity after reading what you commented on a post, is scrolling through your Facebook, SnapChat or Instagram profile! An employer wanting to find out more about you will do no less.
In fact, according to a recent study on recruiting on social media, 94% of the advertising and marketing executives surveyed in the U.S. by The Creative Group, marketing company, revealed that they use social media platforms to recruit and hire new talent (Social Media Coming into it's Own as tool for Recruiting Employees).
Here is what one top level executive had to say:
“Social media is a necessary component for recruitment today,” said Matt Doyle, director of talent acquisition for North America at Sitel. “We will continue to heavily invest in social media recruitment from both an employment branding perspective and career opportunity perspective.” (Social Media Coming into it's Own as tool for Recruiting Employees)
The researchers at Sterling Talent Solutions, recruiting/background screening company, also found that:
"...it is common for employers to informally review the social accounts of candidates and recommended that those applying for new jobs or gearing up to move into the workforce carefully consider how they are portrayed via social media." (Social Media Coming into it's Own as tool for Recruiting Employees)
So what can you do to ensure that you won't be a casualty of irresponsible social media posting or commenting? Do a social media audit! Here's how....
1. Clean up your friend's list.
We know you love your friends but if they are not able to assist you in finding employment and all the content they tag you in is questionable, it's time to consider unfriending them. Ya'll know that some of the things they post on your timeline ain't good for public consumption anyway. Pictures of people with gun shot wounds, brains blown out, chop up, pictures of people fighting and cursing each other out, no sah, not good. If you are honest with yourself you know that he or she always bring drama, and because of that you hardly ever talk to them anyway. Unfriend them and if they realise, just tell them that you're trying to look about a job and you want to make sure everything on your profile is A-okay. By the way Facebook doesn't notify your friends you unfriended them. (Facebook Help Center: Unfriending...) You can always send them a request once you find a job and you're comfortable. If dem nuh understand and catch an attitude them luddy. It's about bettering your circumstances.
ANYBODY THAT'S POSTING NEGATIVE STUFF AND TAGGING YOU IN IT SHOULD BE KEPT AT ARMS LENGTH. CUT BACK YOUR INTERACTIONS WITH THEM.
2. Clean up your timeline: Watch what you post
Scroll through your posts for up to two to three months ago and take a detailed look through of your profile and start deleting any posts you're not comfortable with, this includes posts that friends and family have tagged to your timeline and posts you have shared. Remove any questionable pictures you have and replace them with more wholesome pictures of yourself: wearing a nice blouse and skirt/pants for the ladies. Nice shirt and pants (tailored) for the men. If you do have pictures in a pair of jeans make sure it's full length, covering your ankles and your shoes are clean. For both sexes your hair should be properly groomed and you look pleasant, smiling in all your pictures.
Ditto the recommendations from the point above (meaning do the same we recommended for Facebook). Go through any of your photos, your vids and remove anything that makes you a little uncomfortable.
What about Instagram Stories? This is what the network says about these:
Keep in mind that your story disappears from Feed and your profile after 24 hours unless you add it as a highlight. After that, photos and videos from a person's story will no longer be visible in conversations. Any text that was included with a message will still be visible after the photo or video disappears.*
So what that quote from Instagram is saying: That though your Insta story disappears there will be a trail. Any comment that was made while your story was up will be still be visible on your profile and can be found. Bear in mind also if your profile is public anyone can view what you've posted, anyone. A Jamaican employer once confessed that before they directly ask a candidate for their Instagram or Facebook handle they go fishing with what little they know and see if they can find them. Here's is what Instagram says:
No, someone cannot see if you have viewed their Instagram profile. ... Simply browsing through won't make you visible to any Instagram User.**
Therefore, an employer can simply go looking for you or use the information you've given them to find you and you wouldn't even know that they were on your page. Here's what you do: Ask for a second and third opinion, ask an older person to take a look at your profile and give advice. Okay, so you're wondering: why an older person? It depends, usually someone over 40 or 50 years old, who is employed or has a business, may have a different cultural perspective about what is acceptable and what is not. Most of the hiring managers are over forty (40) years old, and may have a different view on what is acceptable culture and professional practice. Think about it. Yes, we know that there are younger HR officers who interview as well as assist the HR Manager in formulating the questions and assessing the candidates, but who ultimately does the hiring? Who ultimately signs off on which candidate gets the job? The HR Manager, most of whom have been in the field for many years and grew up in a different era from you (if you are in your twenties), some things are not funny to them and not cute.
Think Culture
Jamaican society is for the most part a contradiction of norms and values. Yes, we nah back down from weh we just seh. While the younger generation embraces the Dancehall culture, let us hasten to say not all young people, the older folks for the most part want nothing to do with it and consider it vulgar. Yet, it is considered popular culture because the images from that arena are so pervasive in the society. Also, consider where certain worldviews are concerned, we (Jamaicans) are very conservative. We can think of one lifestyle practice that the majority of Jamaicans are against and how recently, certain images lit up social media, and caused strong reactions from Jamaican people who "bun out dem things dere". Certain things we don't condone and are not willing to endorse, and just the impression or mis-impression of a picture sparked a whole lot of controversy....but we digress. What we're trying to say is one has to be careful of the things we post, and if we are job hunting, we MUST consider the corporate culture and the persons who are at the helm of it.
In the business world there are certain standards that must be upheld and expectations that must be met...And reputations to be protected. On social media you post a picture, that image is up for all to see: to be liked and scrutinized. In the job world image is everything, that is why there is a prescribed way of dressing (and speaking), even the recruiting process is conducted according to a particular format. Yuh neva thought about it, don't it? Check this:
- Step 1: Job is advertised by the employer;
- Step 2: If you are qualified you - send a resume' and cover letter;
- Step 3: You do your research and try to cover all your bases;
- Step 4: You are called to an interview and they ask you a bunch of questions, you may also do tests to determine your competence;
- Step 5: Some interviewers ask for another interview, drug test, etc;
- Step 6: If successful you are offered the job and you start training/working, if not you begin the process all over again.
Some employers require a blood test to find out if you have drugs in your system. Have you seen the article the Gleaner published on Sunday, December 2, 2018? Go read it. Many employers (almost all) are asking for police records now, and quite a few ask job seekers to supply them with their social media account names, both Facebook and Instagram. Many of you reading this know what we're talking about. This is all to protect the company's brand and the reputation it has built over several years. Remember what happened at a certain hotel with the infamous worker? That is an employer's nightmare. Nah seh nuttin more. So again, we implore you to ask a friend, an older, hopefully wiser person to thoroughly go through your accounts to see if there is anything you may have missed in cleaning up your profiles.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this article. We hope this was insightful. Please start putting into practice the suggestions we have made and come back next week to read the rest of the pointers in fixing your social media profiles to present a clean and suitable image for your prospective employer. Your profile should be an effective marketing tool, we will show you how so stay tuned!
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1. Social Media Psychology -https://socialmediapsychology.eu/2016/10/05/onlineandsocialmediacomments/
2. FierceCEO - https://www.fierceceo.com/growth-innovation/social-media-coming-into-its-own-as-tool-for-recruiting-employees
3. Facebook Help Center: Unfriending or Blocking Someone -https://m.facebook.com/help/1000976436606344?helpref=hc_global_nav
5. **Quora.com. Can someone tell if I am viewing their Instagram profile? https://www.quora.com/Can-someone-tell-if-I-am-looking-at-their-Instagram
6. Pictures:
- Employer staring at computer screen with magnifying glass (www.ibtimes.co.uk)
- Social-Media-Job-Search.png
- Inforgraphic - "Where do hiring Managers and Recruiters look." (www.il.evanced.info)
- Employer viewing Job Candidate's Facebook Profile (www.agent-x.com.au)
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