Social Media’s Role in Tomorrow’s Job Search
Social media already plays a large part in today’s job search. It will play an even bigger role in tomorrow’s job search in terms of recruiting/hiring. Recruiters or employers will be using social media platforms to search for new candidates, as well as vetting their prospective candidates. Since social media presence is becoming increasingly important, some employers may want their employees to have a certain image or to ensure that their employee does not have any implicating content on their social media pages. That is tricky however, as social media pages are highly personal (e.g. Facebook, Instagram). That is why I think people will increasingly make their personal pages private and use “professional” social media platforms such as LinkedIn, to market themselves to employers.
I think that from the candidate’s perspective, social media will be a powerful tool that will help the candidate find a really good match. Social media algorithms can play a big part in a candidate’s job search by really helping to tailor the job search to the individual’s specific skill sets and experience. Also, the right opportunity for an individual may come along unexpectedly which can be appealing to many passive job seekers (people who are employed, not actively looking for a job, but are willing to change careers if the right opportunity is found). It is also a good way to keep in touch and leverage your network. By looking to online communities, there will be even more job opportunities available.
I personally don’t think that social media will be used at all in the firing process because it would be highly unprofessional. Termination should come in person if possible, followed by written notice. Firing someone via social media is very public (not considering private messaging aspects of social media) which means that employers would most likely be humiliating the employee that they’re firing.
Social media also poses problems in terms of giving employers access to information. Information can be gleaned from photos, posts, “liked” content, that may inform hiring decisions whether implicitly (e.g. race) or explicitly (e.g. compromising posts). This is where the issue lies because some of this information can be considered discriminatory. There is also the issue of employers having being social media savvy as a requirement for the job. This effectively transforms social media into a selection tool which can screen out candidates that may not have access to it, or candidates that may be less confident with social media.
However, I think companies will still incorporate social media into their hiring practices because there can be many benefits. These benefits can include access to a larger candidate pool, as well as access to people similar to the top employees through their social media networks. Since many jobs are “hidden”, it is through social media and online communities/networks that employers can fill openings and job searchers can look for jobs. I also think that social media allows for the fastest possible updates revolving around new opportunities, but instead of through the traditional “word-of-mouth” way, the medium is online/digitally.
