Have you been wondering why you attended that interview and never got a call back? The reason might lie in your facebook profile. Some companies are now using social media to advertise vacancies, share information about their companies and most importantly screen potential applicants. It is therefore important for graduates to audit their online presence so as not to miss a chance on potential employment.
Employers are preferring to interact with students and graduates via Facebook, according to a study by online recruiting research lab Potentialpark.
According to Lead corporate social media trainer, Cher Jones, most potential candidates are missing out on potential employment due to the following reasons:
- Inappropriate pictures including nudity and drunken behavior- if a potential employer comes across pictures of you behaving inappropriately then their perception of you changes and chances of you getting the job decline.
- Shared confidential information about a past employer-if you have been previously employed and are sharing valuable confidential information from your previous employer, then what do you expect your employer to think of you?
- Poor communication skills- use of ‘sheng’ sends the wrong information to potential employers and gives your potential employer a bad impression of you
Other reasons include;
- References to drug abuse
- Extremist/intolerant views, including racism, sexism
- Criminal activity
- Evidence of excessive alcohol consumption
- Foul language
- Links to unsuitable websites
- Lewd jokes
- Silly email addresses
- Membership of pointless / silly groups
Some quick tips that might help you are:
- Get rid of any silly, racist/sexist group memberships
- Try to list some favorite books, not just films and music. Employers will be impressed if you look well-read.
- Make your Quotations ones which are funny or profound, not all lewd jokes all the time
- Check for typos and spelling mistakes: these might seem unimportant to you, but they could be sending a negative impression to potential employers
So … head on over to Facebook, and check out the employer-friendliness of your profile.
