Times are tough. Good jobs are scarce and competition is high. You’ve polished your resume. Spent countless hours reviewing company backgrounds and you’ve assured yourself that you are ready for whatever questions that sneaky HR manager throws at you. You land the interview, nail it and spend the next week and a half waiting for a phone call that never comes in. What happened?! Maybe you were the perfect candidate until that same sneaky HR manager who didn’t manage to stump you with a question did happen to stumble across that photo of you funnelling beer at your best friends stag…or was it that shirtless YouTube video you posted singing about your frustration with patrons of your previous job at Starbucks? (see video below).
Think that pesky HR manager is too busy to bother seeking you out? Think again. In a 2013 study conducted by CareerBuilder.com 2,303 hiring managers and human resource professionals were questioned regarding the use of social media as part of their hiring process. The study revealed that 37% of employers used social media networks to screen potential job candidates. That means roughly two out of every five hiring directors took the time to browse your online profiles and check you out online. (Forbes. 2013)
When your next potential employer Google’s your name, what will they find? The slightest perceived infraction may be the difference between landing your dream job and losing it to the guy with the squeaky clean Facebook page or the girl who couldn’t be found online at all. Candidates for competitive positions should maintain online identities that project professionalism, demonstrate effective communication skills and show association with professional networks and colleagues. As a general rule of thumb if your grandma would be offended by it, keep it offline.