Will My Employer Check My Social Media Accounts?

The vast majority of people today have some sort of presence in social media with an account on Facebook being the most common one. If you have been active on the net, if you have had some professional seniority, you will have an electronic trail and your potential employer will, at a minimum, Google you to see what they can find on the net.

Most often, this is just a ‘disaster check’ since the net presence of the average job applicant is actually quite bland. There could be photos of food eaten, family gatherings, beautiful scenery. However, this is not always the case and a strong net presence, either deliberately created by you, or indirectly impacting you, will have an effect on your potential employer.

People are judgemental and recruiting managers especially so. They are not trying to find a reason not to hire you but at the same time, they hope not to find something that sets off alarm bells. That is their job. They work to benefit their employer which means finding the right people with the least amount of potential problems.

The problem is that you might think there is nothing wrong with what you posted as a comment or as a photo. At the time you posted, it was funny or it was just what you were doing and you wanted to share that. But consider photos where you might have been dancing on a table top at a party. Does that show you are a fun person, or a wild person with potential discipline issues? What about political comments you made on Twitter? Are you an activist or were you just part of the millions of people who felt the same way?

If you look at the reverse situation, you get a better understanding of how your social media accounts may actually positively shape impressions of you: you have photos of charity work you are involved in, helping blind people on the weekends, or you are an amateur chef and your hobby is to share recipes and photos of what you have created. By comparison, the average person would look at these as positive reflections of the job applicant and perhaps be impressed enough to advance the person to the next round. Or even proceed to hire them.

“Social media is a double-edged sword: it can work very well for you but at the same time, it can also work against you.”

The important thing is that you are aware of this. Know that whatever gets on to the net, stays there forever. You might be ok with that now, but down the road, you should never have to regret something you knew may become a problem later.