5 Biggest Social Media Mistakes That Could Cost You the Job Interview
Welcome to Recruiter QA, where we pose employment-related questions to the experts and share their answers! Have a question you'd like to ask? Leave it in the comments, and you might just see it in the next installment of Recruiter QA!
Today's Question: What's one social media snafu you've seen a candidate pull that made you reconsider their qualifications? How can job seekers avoid making the same mistakes?
The answers below are provided by members of FounderSociety, an invitation-only organization composed of ambitious startup founders and business owners.
1. Minimal Personal Branding
It's so important to focus on personal branding. I often see people forget to do this, and it's a huge missed opportunity. If I'm interviewing someone, I'm going to take a look at their Twitter and Linkedin profiles. If there isn't much there or they don't have an account, I will wonder about their past experience in technology.
Make it easy for people to find you online, and don't forget to make your expertise clear. Set up your social media profiles (I recommend Twitter and Linkedin for job seekers) and do this before you go to an interview. While many candidates do have LinkedIn profiles, it's important to include other social networks that operate in real time, like Twitter. It's always interesting to learn about a candidate's perspective via their Twitter timeline. Take some time to think about what your area of expertise is and how you can showcase that on your profiles. Write a great and informative Twitter bio. Make it clear who you are and what you offer. Specify topics you're interested in.
I'd also recommend using Twitter as a resource to find potential jobs. Many employers (our company included) put out job announcements via Twitter. It's a great (and an often missed) resource.
— Uchechi Kalu Jacobson, Linking Arts Web Design ">
— Steven Buchwald, The E2 Visa Lawyer