We now live in a virtual world where everything is up there on the cloud. It’s public. It’s seen. It’s monitored. The #1 used websites are social media with Facebook ranked as the most popular platform on the web. And apart from the criticism that some people may have, social media has shown some really good benefits. It connects people together. You can learn about places and get updated about what happens in other parts of the world. Social media provides a personal space for everyone to share their thoughts and updates and document the moments they don’t want to forget.
But have you ever wondered why you’re sometimes asked to insert a link to your Facebook profile when you’re applying to attend some events? We hear terrifying stories about people getting fired because of something they posted on Facebook or others who ruined their entire career because of an inappropriate photo they shared. Here a question rises: what does a personal space have to do with the future of someone’s career?
Social Media and Career
Social media is now playing a more crucial role than just connecting people together as it’s going further into business. 88% of companies now use social media to market their products and services and attract new customers. It’s essential for any business to have an online presence. And with the rise and wide spread of the concept of personal branding, more and more talent are using social media as channels to show off their work and crystalize their value proposition. Recruiters can learn a lot about the professional life of a candidate from their social media and for those who keep their online pages at a personal level, they’re also giving recruiters something they need to know.
When recruiters are screening CVs looking for candidates that technically fit the job requirements, they also check if they fit the company’s culture code and values, the thing that is hard to detect in a formal interview.
A company culture is a code according to which everyone in the company reacts. It’s a set of rules that define the company’s mission and the direction it’s taking. In order for any company to succeed and flourish, employees, team members, managers, and literally everyone has understand this set of rules very carefully and deal with others according to it. Doing this creates harmony in the workplace and makes it easy for employees to communicate and cooperate, which leads to a more positive work environment and increases the engagement.
That’s why it’s important for recruiters to know whether or not a new candidate matches the company culture and will fits his/her space in the engagement puzzle.
For that, recruiters review candidates’ Facebook, checking what they post and share, whether it’s written content, photo or video, to get an idea about the candidates’ behaviors and tendencies. They can later decide, based on the idea and impression they received, whether there’s a match between the candidates’ beliefs and the company’s values. For instance, a candidate that posts racist content will be rejected by a company that promotes respect and equality for everyone.
Social profiling has become an essential element of the hiring process. To stand a good chance of being accepted for a job, candidates have to watch out for their social media and carefully decide what they should and shouldn’t post.
