One careless click: how social media profiles can impact on your job prospects
Jordan Miller, who earned $100,000 a year in the position, was found to have lied on her application for the role earlier this year.
Although she started the job early in 2012, the discrepancy in her application did not show up until December 5th.
In her application Miller stated that she graduated from Columbia College, though it has now been verified that she did no such thing.
Interestingly however, it seems social bookmarking site Reddit may have had something to do with Miller’s downfall.
The University allowed her to keep the job after one Redditor posted documents online (attained through the Freedom of Information act) showing her application papers as well as a certificate stating that she had not in fact graduated from her course.
Miller offered her resignation soon after.
This story is interesting because Miller theoretically has a detailed knowledge of social media, but was ultimately undone by it. What’s more interesting however is the level of impact that social media is having on recruitment across all sectors.
How can social media undo your job search?
According to a recent report carried out by CIPHR, 91% of internet-savvy employers have been known to at some point screen potential applicants through their social media profiles.
Even more interesting than that however, is the fact that employers tend to use Facebook and Twitter over professional network LinkedIn. Out of the 91%:
- 76% of employers used Facebook
- 53% of employers used Twitter
- 48% of employers used LinkedIn
According to a different report 80% of LinkedIn users are on Facebook, while only 30% of Facebook users are on LinkedIn, offering a possible explanation as to why employers may be more likely to screen potential applicants via that service.
Out of the employers, a total of 61% stated that they had actually decided to reject a candidate who had been screened via the social process.
The reasons given were themselves quite interesting:
- 13% rejected candidates because they had found discrepancies in their qualifications.
- 11% rejected candidates because of inappropriate comments, photographs, drug references or information about their previous employer.
- 10% rejected candidates because of evidence of drug use or discriminatory comments.
- 9% rejected because of references to drinking.
7% rejected because they witnessed confidential information on the profiles that they had viewed.
So how can your profile help secure your dream job?
The news is not all doom and gloom however, as it was also found that a massive 68% had hired a candidate after viewing their social account:
- 39% hired because the candidate showed evidence of a positive personality.
- 36% hired because the candidate’s profile showed supporting qualifications or because the candidate showed creativity.
- 34% hired because the candidate had evidence of good references.
- 33% hired because the candidate showed good communication skills on their profile.
- 24% hired because the employer found hidden awards or attributes within the profile of the candidate.
The question you must then ask yourself if you are currently looking for a job is: “how much exactly do you want potential employers to view on your Facebook or Twitter profile?’
Although leaving them open to the public may definitely work in your favour, getting tagged in last weekend’s photographs may in future lead to an unfortunate decision from a potential employer that you will never be aware of.
If you want to know more about how social media can help you secure a job, Blueclaw’s Sean Walsh (Head of Social Media) and Martin Woods (Senior SEO Manager) will be giving a talk about this very topic on January 24 at Leeds Metropolitan University.
