A picture of you drinking a beer.

A potentially inappropriate comment you posted on your friend’s wall.

A phony profile of you that your friend set up years ago as a practical joke.

Can things like these really damage your candidacy when you’re searching for employment?

Absolutely. In fact:

• Nearly half (47 percent) of recruiters use social media to screen applicants before they even talk to them.
• A 2014 CareerBuilder study shows that 45 percent of employers use search engines like Google – not just social media profiles – to research potential job candidates.
• The same study indicates that 51 percent of employers who research job candidates on social media passed on a candidate because of content they found online, up from 34 percent in 2012.

What are recruiters finding that’s causing them to eliminate candidates from consideration? Here are a few of the most common culprits:

• Provocative or inappropriate photographs
• Information about drinking or drug use
• Bad-mouthing co-workers or employers
• Discriminatory comments related to a protected class
• Lying about job qualifications

Here’s the simple truth: Your online reputation greatly impacts your viability as a job candidate. Use these tips from Exact Staff to clean up your “digital footprint” – and keep yourself in the running:

• Search yourself. Use a variety of search engines to find out what pops up when you type in your name. Search multiple variations of your name, including common misspellings.
• Clean up after yourself. Delete old profiles. Take down inappropriate photos of yourself. Remove questionable comments and posts you’ve left. Update incorrect information. And if you can’t delete a questionable piece of information, contact the person who posted it or the site administrator and ask that it be taken down.
• Manage your privacy settings. Social media sites like Facebook make it easy to control what a potential employer can see – but only if you set your privacy controls.
• Choose an appropriate screen identity and picture. If you’re looking for work, make sure your profile photos convey the right image.
• Think before you post. Moving forward, use the “grandma rule of thumb.” If the content isn’t something you’d share with your grandmother, don’t post it.
• Conduct regular maintenance. Managing your online reputation isn’t a one-time event; it’s a process. Every few months, revisit your profiles and search your name to catch unintentional “data spills” and keep your digital reputation in tip-top shape.

On the Job Hunt?

Exact Staff can connect you with career opportunities at every employment level and in a wide variety of fields including administrative, accounting/financial, legal, medical/dental, technical, sales, and engineering. Connect with an Exact Staff recruiter today.