Is Your Social Media Affecting Your Job Search?

Social media is increasingly becoming a part of our lives. We use it to keep in touch with friends, meet new people and keep track of trends. We actually use social media so much that we have little or no privacy in our everyday lives.

While social media has a lot of benefits, it certainly has some a few downsides. While keeping you connected with your friends and colleagues, it also opens you up to a good deal of scrutiny. And sometimes, this scrutiny can come from people you would rather keep some part of your life away from.

If you are in the market for a new job, you should be aware that your potential employers will likely look up your activities on social media. And what they see can significantly affect your chances of being hired.

Here are some mistakes you should avoid making on social media so that you don’t spoil your chances of a good employment.

Complaining about your job

When people say a problem shared is a problem half solved, they were not talking about sharing it on social media. Sharing your work problems on social media is definitely not going to solve them. It is worse when you say something bad about your boss or the place you work. Even if a wrong comment does not hurt your current job, it can come back in the future to hurt your chances at career advancement. You can use social media to ask for constructive ideas on how to be more productive, but your language should in no way reflect negatively off your employers.

Sharing inappropriate photos

It is understandable that you want your friends to know that you are having the time of your life, but there are certain photos that you just should not post online. There have been several instances of employees losing their jobs simply because they shared the wrong photo on their social media profile. You have to understand that as an employee, you are an ambassador for where you work. Your actions and activities online can be taken to reflect the values of the company where you work.

Announcing a new job offer

Everyone deserves an upward career move and you can be tempted to share the exciting offer you got online. However, most job offers are confidential. Just because you got the offer doesn’t mean it is a done deal. Your new employer may see you as untrustworthy if you break the confidentiality by going online with the news.

Posting derogatory comments

You need to be careful about the comments you make online. Making comments that offend a person or particular group of people can cost you your job. Even though you are entitled to your own opinions, as long as you work for a company, you have to take their image into consideration when making your updates.

Sharing confidential office information

Company information is not meant to be shared on your social media profile unless you have the permission to do so. The same thing applies to office gossip. Putting the wrong information out there can result in liabilities for your employers and cause them lots of money in damages.

You may not know it but your social media activity could be negatively affecting your job search. Do you have anything on your profile that would turn prospective employers away? It may be time for a bit of social media house cleaning.