Do you look up people on Google as a background check, if so what do you look for that says do not hire this person?

Great question! I am a hiring manager, and I always look up my potential candidates on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, etc. I am in sales, and as my sales employees are frequently speaking to clients/customers, I need to ensure that they have a healthy online presence. Mostly, I get concerned when I see references to drugs or if there are scandalous photos. My best candidates have social profiles with pictures of friends and family, good food or fun experiences/travel. Once you enter the workforce, you have to be mindful that your social profiles should no longer reflect your partying days in college; you want to represent yourself as a responsible adult, ready to tackle the world!

Great question Dalton: As one who was assigned to check references listed on the application and has met with hiring employers who offered feedback on this topic, these areas are caution areas online: smoking and drinking (might be expensive to provide insurance to and call out often with hangovers). Nudity of any kind is an obvious "no,no". Friends with inappropriate clothing or language. Inappropriate email addresses, employer didn't hire due to " immaturity of email address.....hotmama@....or coolpapa@....get it? These aren't necessarily fire items but rather no hire items because the review of sites tends to happen before offering an interview. Hope this helps. Best of luck!

Dalton,

A lot depends on the type of job the person is applying for, and how strong of a candidate they are for the position. In general, the things an employer would look for on social media include badmouthing a previous employer, risk-taking activity (drinking, stupid stunts- tide pod challenges, etc), racist/sexist/inflammatory comments, and anything that could potentially reflect negatively on the employer if you were linked to their company. That's a lot! Be careful out there!