Social Media. Does it Help us, or Hurt us in the Job Market?

It’s not really news to me or anyone I think, but social media is very prevalent in our present-day job search and job hiring processes and actually helps us in some cases, more than it hurts us. It’s no surprise that as social media as our vehicle of communication in our present day, is heavily involved in the job search or hire. Platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter allow employers to have complete access of who a potential employee is outside of their cover letter, resume or interview. That’s probably why 99.9% of people looking for jobs are active on social media 99.9% of the time, as “more than a third of all employers utilize these sites in their hiring process” (J. Smith, Forbes).

In the search to see if job seekers understand the role that social media plays in the search for a job, or within a job, CareerBuilder.com hosted a survey for hiring managers and human resource professionals. The results showed that a whopping 37% of professionals looking to employ use social media networks to learn more about potential employees and somewhat base their hiring decision on their findings. I guess that’s the part that either makes you, or breaks you. So just a tip for anyone looking for a job… beware of the 37%, and make sure your social media is as pristine as your resume is.

As we all know by now the information we provide online through all of our social media platforms is what employers and everyone else sees. Once something is up floating through the internet, it never really disappears. Although it seems like hiring managers going through one’s social media to dig up dirt would be hurtful, they are also looking for any information about someone to help them or give them an advantage. The same survey hosted by CareerBuilder obtained a response that “29% of surveyed hiring managers found something positive on a profile that drove them to offer the candidate a job”. In many cases a respective employer can get a good feel for potential employee’s personality though their social media, or their profiles may just be conveyed in a professional way, which is a plus.

So, to all job seekers, potential candidates, or respective employees, don’t focus on hiding or trying to remove what you feel is inappropriate content within your social media, just simply focus on building strong networks, an online profile that represents you to the best possible degree and most important engage on social networking to increase visibility.

#RTA902