Did you know that 93% of hiring managers will review a candidate\u2019s social profile before making a hiring decision? And that about a third (34%) of employers who scan social media profiles said they have found content that has caused them not to hire the candidate? Don\u2019t be one of these people!<\/p>\n
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As you are applying for jobs and internships don\u2019t just make sure your cover letter is perfect and your resume looks nice \u2013 CLEAN UP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILE! Avoid provocative or inappropriate photos, evidence of excessive drinking and\/or drug use, bad mouthing previous employers, making discriminatory comments related to race, gender, or religion.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay,\u201d you say, \u201cbut I keep my nose\u2014and my posts\u2014clean, and I wouldn\u2019t think of making any of the stupidest social media blunders. So what have I got to worry about?\u201d Well, you might want to take another read of what you\u2019ve written: 66% of hiring managers said they would hold poor spelling and grammar against candidates. This is especially true in the legal field where writing skills are so vital.<\/p>\n
Employers do extensive research on these sites before they hire you. It’s a good rule of thumb to never post anything you wouldn’t want a boss or prospective employer to see, and always assume that, no matter how strict your privacy settings are, that your post will be seen. If you don’t want something to be seen, don’t post it on the Internet.<\/p>\n
To clean up your profile start by removing any inappropriate content. This may\u00a0require more than just deleting posts\u00a0from your profile. The negative information may be hosted on other sites, perhaps within a\u00a0blog post, comment, photo, or video. You may need to politely write to the site owner and request that they take the information down.<\/p>\n
You also should start producing more career-relevant and positive content and publishing\u00a0it on your social media profiles. This will hopefully rise to the top of search engine results, burying the older, more negative content you have on display<\/p>\n
For more information and tips review the video in the link below or stop by the Career Services Office for advice. We are here to help!<\/p>\n