Your actions on social media reveal more about you than you probably even realize. In fact, when potential employers look at your social media profiles, they can and will draw conclusions about who you are and the type of employee you are.
Even if you utilize privacy settings and only share harmless posts, your visible behavior on social media can still offer insight into your personality and habits. So if you’re in the market for a new job, it’s important to consider what your social media accounts are telling employers about you.
Here are some traits that employers can infer about you via social media:
1. Professionalism
Most people maintain professionalism at work, but how about online or in public? Employers don’t want to hire someone who will poorly represent their brand outside of work, they want candidates who maintain a sense of professionalism at all times. If your posts include a plethora of cuss words, employers will get the impression that you’re an unprofessional potty mouth. If your posts are dramatic, employers might worry that you’ll start drama in the workplace. Also avoid lashing out about certain products or people in your posts—otherwise, employers may expect you’ll respond poorly to frustrating situations in the workplace.
2. Networking Skills
Who do you engage with online the most? Motivational speaker Jim Rohn once said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” This is one reason why employers and recruiters will look to see your connections on social media and what industry they work in or even how they present themselves. So consider spending some time online connecting to people and professionals in your field. You can also join relevant groups on LinkedIn and “like” pages on Facebook to grow your online professional network and start building relevant connections.
3. Communication Skills
In addition to seeing who you’re connected with, employers might also evaluate how you’re connecting with them. Are you commenting on other’s posts, and responding to comments on your posts? Even more importantly, do your posts encourage comments and conversations? One easy way to start conversations is by asking questions, such as, “What’s your opinion on this new development?”. Because communication skills are important for almost any job, showing employers that you’re capable of communicating with your peers effectively and appropriately is crucial.
4. Attention to Detail
For many job positions, being detail-oriented is extremely important. To make sure that you possess this praiseworthy trait, employers might examine your social media profiles. Outdated profile information—or an incomplete profile—can serve as a red flag. Simple things such as spelling and grammar mistakes can also send the message that you don’t focus on or care about details. By making sure your social profiles are free of old information and grammar mistakes, you can come across as being detail-oriented.
5. Personality Type
When employers look into your social media accounts, they might try to infer what kind of personality you have to see if it’s a good fit for the role you applied to. So how does your personality come across online? If you only have negative things to say, or if you only share immature links, you could be sending the wrong message. Instead, consider which personality traits are important to the jobs you’re applying to and try to convey these online. For example, if you’re a teacher, do you share educational content to show that you love spreading knowledge? Review past posts and evaluate how your personality shows through your social media footprint to prospective employers.
6. Decision-Making
Employers want to hire people who make good decisions so they can trust that their employees will do the right thing. Fortunately (at least for employers), many of the choices you make throughout your life are often apparent on your social media profiles. What choices are you making and broadcasting online? These decisions can help or jeopardize your chances of getting hired. Also make sure that the posts and pictures you choose to share enhance your reputation, not detract from it. Carefully deciding what to share online can lead employers to believe that you have appropriate decision-making skills.
So how do you appear online? If you’re trying to get a job, leverage social media to show employers that you possess great qualities and the right skills. Just be sure that the reputation you create for yourself on social media truly represents who you are. This way, recruiters get an ideal and authentic first impression of you.
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