Social media mindfulness for your career. Part 1. How to find a job

Job market in crisis

COVID age job market is in deep crisis. According to the International Labour Organization, working hours fell 14 per cent during the second quarter of 2020 — equivalent to the loss of 400 million full-time jobs.The most hurt in this situation is young generation, more than one in six young people have stopped working since the onset of the COVID pandemic while those who remain employed have seen their working hours cut by 23 %. More and more companies continue reducing their workforces: British Petrolium plans to cut 10,000 jobs, Renault — 15,000 jobs, Airbus — 15,000, Lufthansa — 22,000, Tui — 8,000 etc. As a result, job market offers less job opportunities to the spiking number of job seekers. This situation allows recruiters and HR managers to apply more strict requirements to their current staff and potential employees. One of such requirements is the unspotted online image.

Your private life is no longer private

Unfortunately, that is true.The information you once posted on the web or in social media are available for other people meaning it is available for your prospect or current employer. Your digital footprint may bring you the job of your dream or make you unemployed.

Research conducted in 2018 revealed that 70% of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates during hiring process, 48% check up on current employees on social media and 34% even reprimanded or fired an employee based on content found online. Here are just a few examples of how people’s digital footprint dismissed them from their posts.

After surge of recent riots in the US after George Floyd’s death and expansion of “Balck lives matter” movement employers became extremely sensitive and intolerant to any online impolitic statements of their employees.

This story recently rattled in the news. Global investment company Franklin Templeton fired their employer Amy Cooper. She called the police on her mobile phone to say that an African-American man was threatening her and her dog in New York’s Central Park. The man, Christian Cooper, said he had earlier asked her to leash her dog. Video of the incident was uploaded to the web and reached her employer.

Another example, the principal trombonist from the Austin Symphony Orchestra was sacked after her Facebook comments in which she claimed that black protesters “deserve what they get.”

Community Health of South Florida worker fired for using ““N-word” and other profanity to describe African Americans”.

But that is not only about George Floyd. York University professor Nikolaos Balaskas posted what was believed to be anti-semitic posts on Facebook. A Jewish advocacy organization school found the posts and reported them to the university authority. The professor was fired.

Kate Nash was handling the social media accounts for Frederick County Public schools. One student tweeted at the school “@FCPSMaryland close school tammarow PLEASE.” Kate replied: “But then how would you learn to spell ‘tomorrow’? J.” Katie was asked to delete the post, apologize to the student, and was let go shortly after.

Research cited above was conducted in 2018. This year was much less stressful for the job market. You could hope that your good but not perfect digital identity would be “ok” for your employer. Now the market is overcrowded with jobseekers and allows recruiters and HR managers to be even more picky. What yesterday was “ok” for them, today is “not good enough” to fill a position or continue occupation.

Job seeker? Prepare your digital identity

You polished your resume, updated LinkedIn profile, wrote hundreds cover letters and even prepared elevator pitch. Think, you are ready to start applying? But have you polished your digital footprint? Hundreds of colleges and high schools conduct thousands of seminars about social media behaviour explaining students how important it is to keep digital life clean and decent. However, Dr. E. Michele Ramsey, associate professor of Communication Arts & Sciences and Women’s Studies at Penn State, Berks, shares that “students are usually very surprised to learn how many future employers look at social media when hiring”. Ana Agneshwar, founder of Aimient, a human resources consulting firm, continues underlining that you can really turn off a company with your digital footprint. Melanie Ledbetter-Remy, Director of SEO & Online Marketing and Part Owner of Biztopia tells a real story: “A client shared news that she had interviewed this “awesome, perfect fit, fun, upbeat” young nurse that came in for an interview. The doctor was ready to hire — then we checked her Facebook page. The nurse had tattoos EVERYWHERE possible, visible unless covered. Dr. B said that she didn’t feel the nurse would represent her practice, therefore the “perfect fit” didn’t get an offer”.

Impressed? Now it’s time to cultivate your digital identity. Here is your roadmap.

First stage: Cleanse

First, you need to clean up all the rubbish your social media profile collected through the years.

1. Log into all the social media profiles you remember and check your activity log. Look at it with the eyes of potential employers. Remove subscriptions to all controversial groups and pages, delete dubious shares and inappropriate comments. Remember, it is regarded as supporting when sharing a tweet, a story, a photo, or a comment. Important! Social media specialists do not advise to polish your social media profile to perfection. It will look unnatural and employers will easily understand you want to show off.
2. Now google your name for any undesirable content left and contact the content platforms to delete it.
3. Use special software to find really all content about you as simple googling will bring you not perfect results.

Second stage: Update

Now, add scrutinized content.

1. Verify that your profiles’ information matches. If in LinkedIn you indicated that you graduated from Harward, your Facebook page should reflect the same or nothing but not any other college. And all this is inline with your CV.
2. Update your profiles on business networks with professional photos, erase misprints and grammar mistakes.
3. Change your social media settings to require approval before any posts or photos from others appear on your profile pages

Third stage: Monitor and Go on

It is the last stage but It will never end. From now on you need to stay vigilant for your social media activities.

1. Create google alerts to receive updates with your name mentioned on the web
2. Think twice before posting, liking, sharing or subscribing.

Checklist: What is “ok” and what is “not ok” for your digital image

Social media profile is your personal brand. Here are some tips from social media specialists on how to design and maintain your personal brand image and reputation.

Do post:

• Gratitude for people who helped you or whose activity you find supportive for community
• Good-taste humor
• Discussions and ideas that support your interests
• Discussion and ideas that support your CV statements or professional interests
• Stories and memories about private life without shocking details. Specialists do advise to post events with friends and family, otherwise a recruiter will think that either your profile was intentionally cleaned or you are an unsocial person who will not fit their team.

Do not post:

• Any dubious activities that might seem illegal
• Bullying comment and posts
• Posts disrespectful to you previous managers or employes, teachers, schools and colleges
• Any images or posts that can hit feeling of a particular group of people
• Inflammatory shares and retweets. Even if you are not their author. You retweeted them, thus you own them as well.

Conclusion

Today, in COVID times, the job market is in deep crisis. HR managers and recruiters are receiving loads of applications from job seekers. In this situation not only professional experience matters. More and more recruiters google their applicants to find the perfect fit. Online image of job seekers should be spotless and fit their career aspirations. Otherwise, they will not be this perfect fit for a potential employer.

Today we talked about job seekers. In the next article we will discuss social media behaviour of those who are already employed.