What you shouldn’t (and should) worry about with Social Media
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There’s a strange chilling effect with social media users these days. With so many people looking for work, no one wants to write or post anything that might hurt their chances at their next interview. Not posting pictures of your last sushi night out with your friends, where you did all those sake bombers and wound up in the street in your underwear pretending to be a bullfighter and swinging your pants at oncoming traffic… that’s definitely something no hiring manager wants to see.
What about something more innocent? Should you write about your political beliefs? Music you hate? Post pictures of your last hunting trip, or a vacation video taken of you in a bathing suit?
What is the line between something that could be bad for you, and simply sharing something from your life?
Know the Line
Rather than simply being paranoid and not posting anything, think about whether or not what you are going to say or show is really negative. Is it anything that falls into this quick list:
- Hate speech
- Showing drug use
- Commission of any other crimes
- Nudity
- Egregious swearing
Not surprisingly, these are the big ones that you should always avoid posting publicly. The easy rule of thumb here is keep your social media life as PG-13 as possible. The first four are painfully obvious, but perhaps number 5 isn’t.
If you are always swearing when you post, this not only gives the impression that you may speak this way normally, but that you aren’t smart enough to come up with other words on your own. (And if you knew what “egregious” meant, this probably isn’t the case.)
If you do post this kind of content on your social network profiles, by all means hide them – don’t use your real name, and DO NOT share them in places where an employer will read them. Most people are finally aware of how much damage sharing information like this about themselves in public can be for them, so if this is at all true for you, just detach yourself from these profiles before you even submit that next resume.
The Troublesome Subtleties
Well that’s easy enough not to do – but what about political opinions, or even opinions about the industry you work in?
For the most part, you should never have to censor your real beliefs on these subjects. The first is that if everything you post is edited and sanitized, you won’t have any more fun. The reason for that Facebook or Twitter account is to share something about you. The fact of the matter is, if you don’t get an interview because of an honest opinion, you don’t want to be working at that company anyway. If your honest opinions really are in conflict with the culture of the company you are applying to, it really is for the best if you don’t get the call – not just for them, but for you as well.
Also, your opinions on your industry, while they may not be what everyone else says, shows that you have an intuitive understanding of the subject matter, and can come up with outside-the-box analysis. If the general consensus is that Home Loan A is a great product, and you can share reasons why it isn’t, the right hiring manager can learn that you not only know about the home loan industry, but that you can think for yourself. If the company does not want employees who can think beyond what they’re told about a product, you probably don’t want to work there either. Generally speaking, the ability to think independently is considered a virtue, and can actually help you.
Frequency
Oddly enough, while so many are worried about what they post, there isn’t the same kind of warning about how often you post. It can definitely work against you if you are posting to Twitter and Facebook and Linkedin twice an hour all day. If you are unemployed and have oodles of free time on your hands, you might be doing just that.
What a hiring manager sees, however, is someone addicted to social networking. They may conclude that, if hired, you will spend an inordinate amount of time continuing to post messages and photos and comments.
What Kind of Company Do You Want to Work For?
Don’t think I’m being insensitive when I suggest you don’t want to work for a company that doesn’t want you. We are definitely in an employer’s job market these days, and there are many candidates for them to choose from. Dealing with pleasing potential employers by not posting anything at all, however, can hurt more than help.
I have always maintained that if you are worried about what you do online coming back to haunt you, you should distance your real life from your social networks. If it is too late for that, consider keeping two kinds of profiles – the fun one that cannot come back to you, and the professional one that you don’t mind employers seeing.
This issue ultimately comes down to controlling what others can learn about you. Given the amount of use social networks receive, it’s rather like learning that employers are listening in on your phone conversations, too – so watch what you say.
The difference is that phone conversations really are private, and what you do on social media is not only public, but everyone knows that it’s public. Anything you are ashamed to share shouldn’t be shared – but anything else you should simply be prepared to stand by, and possibly even defend.
Your social networking footprint is a representation of who you are, and the best way for hiring managers to get to know you before an interview. While it is smart to hide the embarrassing stuff, don’t be ashamed to show people the rest.
Eric Reid is an Internet marketer from Tempe, Arizona, specializing in SEO and social media marketing. Currently he writes the blog Ciao Enrico, which is also his nom de plume on Twitter and many other social media sites. He recently took the best driver’s license photo anyone has ever seen.
Article courtesy of Brand-Yourself.com for actionable tips to put you in a position of power in the job market
