Afraid to use social media while job hunting? You shouldn't be

A friend told me over coffee years ago that he had an interview scheduled for a highly sought-after internship. He was a great candidate. Yet, a few weeks later he told me that he didn’t get the spot. The employer — a news organization — was concerned about some of his past social media activity.

While news organizations may be a bit more sensitive about their employee’s public statements than other companies, there’s no denying that the trail you leave on the internet can affect the odds of you landing a job. Fortunately, you can still have a social media presence while not harming those odds.

Ground rules

First, it’s important to say that you should assume recruiters and/or hiring managers are looking at your social media accounts. No laws exist that forbid companies from looking at your public accounts as part of the hiring process.

Concern about recruiters moonlighting as internet sleuths may lead you to lock down your social media accounts — or delete them altogether. But Kerri Twigg, founder of Career Stories Consulting, said that could be risky in today’s digital world.

“For companies that emphasize social media, I think that can hurt you now.”

Additionally, she told me that properly curating your social media presence can help showcase you and your talents to potential employers.

Do some house cleaning

The first step in using social media to your advantage during a job search is archiving or hiding any embarrassing or professionally questionable content. Older posts may be especially ripe for archiving or deletion since they may not represent your current self, Twigg told me.

I do this with my Twitter account, for example. My posts are automatically deleted after three months. The words can lack context months later or make no sense if it’s a reply to a now-deleted post.

Twigg said it’s also important to take an inventory of who you’re connected to and following on various social media platforms. “Those connections are good to clean up, too.”

If you’re still not sure what social media posts to hide or archive, remember that employers typically look for reasons to eliminate candidates from consideration. If a post, picture, video or connection could give an employer reason to take you out of the running, it’s probably best to play it safe.

Showcase why you’re a great hire

Twigg told me that it’s crucial for you to present the same story across your social media accounts.

“If you’re on LinkedIn saying you’re a collaborative person or it says that on your resume, you can’t have a bunch of nasty posts on Twitter,” she said.

Additionally, your posts should vary depending on the platform. “Each platform is different. What I’m sharing on Instagram is different than what I share on LinkedIn.”

Some platforms may be better than others for personal photographs about your family trips to the farmers market or posts one of your hobbies, for example. Yet, those pieces of content are still professionally important since they can paint a more rounded picture of you as a person. Just as you hope to do during a job interview, your social media presence can build a rapport with a recruiter or hiring manager that makes it difficult for them to eliminate you from consideration.

Twigg said it’s best to embrace social media as part of the modern job search. “It can feel restrictive that everyone is watching you, but I don’t think it is. It’s the new reality.”

How do you use social media during a job search? Join the conversation.

? The follow-up:

Artificial intelligence is popping up throughout the hiring process. In the last edition of #GetHired, I spoke with Frida Polli, CEO and co-founder of Pymetrics, about her company’s technology and why job seekers might welcome AI as part of their search. One of the potential benefits is that the technology can match people with positions based on their strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, candidates can be selected by an algorithm that may have less bias than human recruiters. People who are trying to reskill may also benefit from these AI systems. Here’s what people are saying about the technology.

? Other news to help you #GetHired:

An example of AI being used during a real hiring process can be found in Singapore, reports Bloomberg. DBS, a bank in the Asia-Pacific city-state, is using a chatbot to help it vet candidates hoping to work in its wealth-management business. About one in three applicants recommended by the technology were ultimately hired by the bank, compared with one in seven who were vetted by humans. Additionally, the bank says the chatbot has increased the pace of the recruiting process. Recruiters used to spend 30 minutes assessing candidates. The time was cut to 8 minutes after the chatbot was deployed. Here’s what people are saying about the chatbot.

Automation in the workplace will disproportionately affect African American workers, predicts a new report. The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that the jobs of 132,000 African Americans are expected to be displaced by 2030. Compounding the problem is the fact that those workers are expected to gain a smaller share of the jobs created between now and then. The data suggest that the employment outlook for African Americans — especially young men without college degrees — will “worsen dramatically” during that time. Fortunately, the report cites some steps that can be taken to blunt the effects of automation on these workers, including reskilling programs and investments in local communities. Here’s what people are saying about the report.

Technology continues to be one industry that can’t hire fast enough, according to The Wall Street Journal. In fact, some U.S. companies are buying smaller tech ventures just to acquire the employees. More than 900,000 tech jobs are currently unfilled, according to one trade group. The most in-demand positions include research scientists, systems managers, analysts, engineers and software architects. Here’s what people are saying about the news.

? Up next:

People take breaks from the workforce for different reasons — to raise children, take care of sick relatives or health reasons, for example. People who try to re-enter the workforce after a significant gap can find job hunting to be especially challenging. We’ll talk about how people re-entering the workforce or with gaps on their resume can minimize those obstacles and increase their odds of landing work. Have you overcome these challenges? Or, are you experiences these difficulties right now? Tell me about it in the comments below.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to reach out to me if you have ideas on topics or questions I should address in future editions of #GetHired. You can also email me at GetHired[at]LinkedIn.com.