If you're looking for that dream job, your potential future employer reserves the right to do some checking on you to see if you're a good fit and not a total liability.
The catch is, you might be doing the investigative legwork on your dime, using all those social media pages you spend so much time on.
Good: A potential employer finding some of your best work on Facebook or Twitter, and seeing you're semi-serious about what you do.
Not good: A potential employer finding you're putting too much time in Facebook when you're supposed to be working on whatever job you're trying to leave.
Really not good: Posting too many rants about your current employer on Twitter.
Way worse: A potential employer finding too many pictures of you unconscious in a puddle of beer, wearing fishnet stockings, on Facebook or MySpace. Shoot, you might as well hang out in front of headquarters of your dream job toting a WILL WORK FOR FOOD sign.
Get the drift?
This is from Small Business Trends:
A recent study from Harris Interactive discovered that 45 percent of employers are now using social media to screen potential job candidates, more than double than last year’s 22 percent. Even more alarming? According to the study, 35 percent of employers have decided not to offer a job to a candidate based on the results of that social media background check. How’s that for a recession bonus? It can seem harsh and like employers are being unfair on new prospects, but there’s good reason for SMB owners to be weary. With the rise of social media, it’s more likely than ever that a customer will encounter your employees online or that they’ll be representing your company to the world when you’re not looking. Sometimes protecting your business means not handing a loaded gun to someone who may blow a hole right through it. In the world of Twitter, would you trust an intern with your brand knowing they had a history of being quick lipped on their Facebook wall or berating old employers?
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