Job hunting? Use social networks to your advantage

January 8th, 2010
Author: Megan Vandervort

A job candidate brings their resume, portfolio, and is dressed immaculately professional. After discussing their past job experiences and skills, a question arises that may leave a potential candidate floored – “Can you give me your login information to your Facebook account?”

As graduation is rapidly approaching for me, I’ve heard horror story after horror story of friends who have been asked this question on interviews. It is a complete eye-opener for those who haven’t even monitored what is on their page or what they are tweeting about.

It is has become substantially more important for anyone nowadays to clean up and polish their social network’s image. According to a Career Builder survey, 35% percent of employers reported they have found content on social networking sites that caused them not to hire the candidate, including:

  • A candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information — 53%
  • A candidate posted content about them drinking or using drugs — 44%
  • A candidate bad-mouthed their previous employer, co-workers or clients — 35%
  • A candidate showed poor communication skills — 29%
  • A candidate made discriminatory comments — 26%
  • A candidate lied about qualifications — 24%
  • A candidate  shared confidential information from previous employer — 20%

So how can social media outlets be used to your advantage?

  • Act professional– Showcasing your professional abilities on a network like Twitter can show how knowledgeable you are in your industry.
  • Add personality - Adding more personal interests to the mix, like favorite recipes, exercises, books, etc. can add a flare that a resume can’t.
  • Engage others – Actively interacting with others in a discussion about your industry or interests can demonstrate creative skills and the ability to work well with others.

Can you offer advice to upcoming graduates and job seekers, or add an experience of your own? We’d love to hear from you!

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 8th, 2010 at 4:36 pm and is filed under Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • Social networking is really useful for getting right business on internet.
  • Social networking have a good benefits on a job seeker because using this you can do job searching and apply a job through online.
  • Candidates are being asked for their Facebok login information? As in, the employer wants the password to access their account? As a job seeker myself, I have never been asked this and would never agree to it. It's my personal account; you're definitely not going to log in.

    Maybe you meant that employers are asking for Facebook information so they can look the person up -- which I still don't think is the best way to screen people -- but it is much more understandable. People act differently depending on what's appropriate for the environment or situation. I use Facebook to connect with friends and family, which means I do post pictures to share with them. Photos of my latest vacation or of my baby niece don't represent my professional character or how hard I work. They aren't meant to. And that's why it's private.

    As for your tips for using social networks to your advantage, I completely agree. Twitter, LinkedIn and blogging are great for that. Connect with professionals and other job seekers on Twitter. Use LinkedIn for connecting and researching. Start a blog and write about stuff that's relevant to your industry. Always be yourself, but use your common sense as well.

    Here's a blog post I wrote with tips for using Twitter in a job search: http://www.abbyschoffman.com/2...
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