Social Media Activity Is One Of The Factors In Applicant Disqualification

Social media is for everything nowadays, from communicating with people to sharing what goes on our people’s lives. Whatever we post on our accounts could either make or break us. A new study from the MRINetwork showed that formal social media evaluation is now one factor for a job applicant’s disqualification. For the research, they surveyed 400 job candidates and 200 hiring authorities across the US.

Outside the confines of the interview room, there is a side of everyone which an employer could not see. Lee Hecht Harrison, a career transition, and development consulting firm asked job seekers in an online poll how their presence is on social media. 48 percent of the respondents said that they are very active online. On the other hand, CareerBuilder.com asked hiring managers and human resource professionals on how they integrate social media in the hiring process.

From the survey, 37 percent of employers revealed that they use social media in screening potential candidates. 65 percent of the respondents said that they look at the applicants’ social media profiles to see how they present themselves in their respective online accounts. Social media as an employment factor has led to employers rejecting their candidates. 34 percent of those who scan social media profiles have found content that caused them not to hire the candidate, and half of them did so because of inappropriate content. Other factors cited by respondents were evidence of drinking, poor communication skills, posts that bad-mouthed a past employer, and discriminatory remarks towards a group.

In MRINetwork’s recent study, 48 percent of the candidates believe that social media presence is essential. They gathered comments from both employers and candidates regarding the importance of social media as a factor in the hiring process. On the part of the job seeker, how one presents himself or herself online reflects one’s personal and professional character. Meanwhile, on the side of the employer, they would want to see how potential employees represent themselves outside of work. 92 percent of the job candidates, however, have not yet encountered employers asking permission to review their social media profiles. 18 percent of the respondent employers are already conducting social media reviews while 17 percent consider integrating it into their hiring process.

Because of this, candidates are undertaking measures to avoid their social media accounts from affecting their potential job opportunity. Some make separate professional accounts or set their profiles on private. The Society for Human Resource Management highlighted tips regarding having a professional appearance online. Job candidates should have complete online profiles, especially for Linkedin where one should put their educational background, relevant experiences, and skills. Alongside this, one should also update their profiles regarding what jobs they get hired in or what promotions they got during the pendency of their employment. Most importantly, maintaining a professional appearance online is also a must.