Social Media and the Job Interview: How to Keep It Clean

August 11, 2020 | Career Blog

Did you know that one in three employers have decided not to hire job candidates based on something they found on their social media? Oh yeah, it’s a thing. Think about how many times you have Googled a business to learn more about it. Well, companies are going to do whatever they can to learn about you, and the internet makes that real easy.

Get Your Digital Persona Ready for Job Interviews

So how can you make sure that your social media is clean enough before your job interview? Keep reading for a few tips!

Search for Yourself on Google

Since that’s what the company you’re interviewing for is most likely going to do first, then you should do it too. See what pops up right away when you put in your name, It can be pretty surprising to see the things that Google will find about you.

When looking at the content that comes up, consider the following:

• Is it positive?
• Does it convey you in a good light?
• Is all of the information accurate?
• Does any personal information come up? Your photos, phone number, address, and the location is something Google could have access to.

A handy tool you may not know about is that you can actually set a Google alert for your name. Once you do, every time your name comes up in a search result you will receive a notification via email. This will show you which sites or content is connected to your name.

Keep Content Professional

There are a lot of people who try to have separate accounts: personal and professional. This can work for a time, but you can’t always control who is going to share your content. An Instagram post on your private account could end up on someone’s public Facebook, it’s very easy to do. So it’s best to just draw the line and keep your content professional. The most important things to avoid posting are:

• Complaints about your boss, coworkers, or place of work.
• Pictures and videos of you partying.
• Posts with strong/controversial political or religious views.
• Swear words and violent language.
• Too much information about your personal/romantic relationships.

What you put on the internet should show you in the best light possible. When they look you up, you want a hiring manager to see your greatest qualities. Take advantage of the opportunity to be able to control what they see.

Ramp Up Your Privacy Settings

Social media platforms do provide options for keeping your content secure. However, it is important to note that, once you put something online, it can never truly be private. Privacy settings may protect you in some ways, but it being up there does make it accessible in some ways. There are a lot of folks that know how to hack into accounts out there, so just be mindful of that. Still, better to practice caution than none at all. For example, in Facebook’s privacy settings you can select:

• Who can see your stuff, whether it just be your friends or any user.
• Limitations on your past posts, preventing anyone outside of friends from seeing them.
• Who can tag you and who can see what you’re tagged in.
• Who can see your photos.

Polish Things Up

Once you have made sure any ‘unsavory’ content has been removed from your accounts, now it’s time to put that professional spin on them. Do you have a LinkedIn? When was the last time you updated it? Is the current job you have listed on your Facebook actually where you currently work? Make sure all of these details are updated because these are the things hiring managers will be paying special attention to. Put your most professional/friendly-looking photo on your profile. Maybe even make a couple of posts on LinkedIn about things that interest you in the industries you are interviewing for. What can it hurt?

Make Sure Your Ready for Any Interview

It is important to prepare for your interview, but make sure you prepare for what comes before that as well. Set yourself up for success by ensuring that whatever the interviewer can find abut you on the internet makes you a great prospect. Looking for more advice on how to land your next job? Allegiance Staffing can help! Learn more at our website here.