Shakuan
Do employers check social media accounts of those who are applying to their company?
There has been discussion over the years that employers check the social media pages of potential employees. Is this true? How wary should one be when posting online, even if the posts are private (between friends)? #job-search #social-media #background-checks
3 answers
Kate Wallace
Kate’s Answer
Hi Shakuan,
Yes, this is true - many employers do check the social media accounts of job applicants. Not all employers take this step, but I think any large company would do so, and many smaller ones as well. (I work at a medium-sized nonprofit, and we always check social media of applicants for red flags, plus we google them.)
You don't have to make your social media ultra-professional, as it's not a professional space (with the exception of LinkedIn). You can be casual talking with friends. I'd say the main categories to avoid are avoid pictures with excessive drinking (i.e. no beer pong! but when you're over 21, you holding a beer should be fine), excessive profanity, and making discriminatory statements about others. Things that aren't appropriate for work can be okay on social media in moderation (like the beer example), but you don't want to post anything that would appear to be a red flag for an employer.
And yes, definitely check your privacy settings and make sure that random people can't see every single thing you post. I have the impression that larger companies may get around this sometimes (but I don't know that for a fact), so you should still be careful with all posts. However, this is always a good step to take, and smaller employers (like mine) would just view public information.
I hope this helps! Good luck!
Kate
Thank you for taking the time to answer (:
Shakuan
Lisa Mark, MA
Lisa’s Answer
Hannah Shaw
Hannah’s Answer
Excellent question! And Kate gave you a great answer.
As a Recruiter, I would always check a candidate's professional social media (i.e. LinkedIn or professional website). It was rare that our HR teams would check on someone's Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram unless perhaps they did not have a LinkedIn account.
I will always recommend that someone be mindful of their privacy settings and of any behavior that they display to the world, regardless of whether or not a Hiring Manager might see it. My rule? If grandma wouldn't approve of the language or photos, then HR probably wouldn't either.
But keep in mind that most companies will want to see some online activity. They want to know that you are tech savvy and in touch with trends. So don't completely disappear either. I'd recommend a solid LinkedIn profile so they aren't tempted to check your more personal accounts.