With the use of social media becoming so popular in our culture, more and more employers are taking to the internet to review their candidate’s online social presence before making an offer. It is important to know how your Facebook profile could hinder your chances of being hired. There are also several instances of employees being terminated after inappropriate content was discovered. So what can you do to ensure your profile doesn’t cause a problem with getting hired in your next job? Let’s take a closer look.
Review Your Privacy Settings.
The first thing experts suggest you do when you set up your social media profiles is to ensure your privacy settings are where you want them. On Facebook, your profile and cover photos are always public. But everything else has settings such as just you, just friends, friends of friends, and public. Review settings for things like photos, posts, and tagging to make sure everything is at the level you want.
Check Your Public Pictures Online.
That said, your name can easily become associated with photos online. As we mentioned, your profile and cover photo are always public so make sure that you keep these as appropriate images. There have been cases of individuals fired for having profile pictures featuring undesirable behaviors. Also, check photos you’re tagged in and remove tags for anything you would consider inappropriate.
Avoid Posting Offensive Or Inappropriate Content.
Everyone has opinions, and on the Internet, it can be easy to share those opinions publicly because you might feel as though it’s anonymous. But nothing on Facebook is truly anonymous. Think before you comment on public pages or posts and determine if you are representing yourself in the most professional manner.
Don’t Make Negative Statements Online.
Finally, you want to avoid making negative statements that might be taken as criticism of your former employers or co-workers. Whether or not these statements are justified, companies look for this kind of behavior and would rather not hire someone who appears dissatisfied with working relationships. They may feel that this negativity could influence other employees in an undesirable way.
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