Clean up your digital dirt

While the use of social channels to screen potential hires can expose companies to legal pitfalls, and there are many issues around discrimination and privacy that must be considered, companies can and do use social media information to augment the hiring process. Some use it well, others may not, but the sheer scale of social media activity means candidates must be aware that in various ways it has become part of the hiring process. 

Every 60 seconds there are 120 new LinkedIn Users, 370,000 Skype Calls, 320 new Twitter accounts and 695,000 Facebook status posts. More than half of employers (56%) say they advertise ONLY in social media when seeking job candidates.

Online collaboration is becoming a way of life, and it has an increasing role to play in your employment prospects—so long as you manage it well.

Social media is being used at an ever-increasing rate to augment and refine the hiring process. So, if you’re online, you should assume your hiring manager, recruiter or HR rep is too. You should assume that how you present online is (at least) as important as how you present in person. For some roles, it will actually be more important.

If there is one golden rule when it comes to vetting your digital presence, it’s this: if you wouldn’t say it in an interview, don’t post it publically online.

 I recently authored this ebook on how to 'Clean up your digital dirt". Learn four basic steps to ensuring your online presence is reflective of the real brand ‘you’, and that it promotes your employability rather than hinders it.

I hope you are able to learn some valuable lessons as you begin to purposely and strategically position yourself online. 

Cheers,

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Mona