Whatever your personal views on social media for personal branding and building profile, whether you’re an avid user or someone who’s never had a social networking account, whether you agree or disagree with recruiters and hiring managers using your social data to recruit, your opinion may not count.
As Firebrand’s Andrew Hutchinson points out:
The fact of the matter is recruiters are looking at your social media presence and are assessing you based on this activity.
Some have questioned the ethics of this….the core truth is recruiters assess this information because they can. Because it’s there. And you may not even be aware of how much people can find out and ascertain about you based on your social presence.
Accordingly to Jobvite’s 2016 Recruiter Nation Survey the overwhelming majority of recruiters (87%) use LinkedIn when evaluating candidates during the hiring process, but a growing number are also using Facebook (43%) and Twitter (22%).
Some other interesting stats to be mindful of:
- 69% of recruiters have rejected a candidate because of what they found out about them on social networks
- Updates referencing illegal activity (including drug use), posts laced with profanity, spelling errors, bad-mouthing your employer online – all of these are major turn-offs for recruiters.
So how do you manage all of this?
The answer may not be in locking all your accounts down or deleting your profiles altogether as this raises some red flags in itself. The answer may instead be using it to your advantage.
Perception = Projection
While your CV is still the primary tool used in the recruitment process, with previous job experience topping the hierarchy of elements on which recruiters place importance when making a hiring decision, note that the second most important element – your personality/cultural fit – is something much harder to convey in your CV.
And here’s a hint…..
With 1.79 billion monthly active Facebook users. Facebook is undoubtable too big to ignore. With scope and reach far greater than LinkedIn, Facebook has the potential to build deeper personal relationships and engagement.
Leveraging Facebook’s platform may be the key to your success, your golden opportunity to let your personality shine. Start shaping your story and how you want to be perceived. Project the image you want to reflect your personal brand.
It’s more likely than not that recruiters and employers will look – in the interest of projecting a positive image why not set the tone and build a positive social media footprint.
If you’d like an assessment of your online presence, or some advice on building your personal brand, give me a call….
