Social media red flags you can’t ignore
During the recruiting or hiring process, you may go beyond looking at resumes and learning about past experience of prospective candidates. Some use LinkedIn as the next tool to learn more about potential employees, and others take a step further and dive into other, less professional social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
Candidates who don’t think hiring managers are looking at their profiles need to wake up and smell the roses. According to a survey by CareerBuilder.com, 70 percent of employers used social media as a screening tool before hiring candidates in 2017 – up 10 percent since 2016 to find any red flags on social media.
If you’re a part of the 30 percent who isn’t browsing social media to get to know your next employee, now might be the time to reconsider. Here are a few of the social media red flags you should be looking for, as they could determine whether you choose to hire or move on to the next resume:
1. The profile is private
Candidates who shift all of their profiles to the private setting may feel as though they’re making the best decision while job searching, but Liz Torres, Monster Worldwide Inc. editor, begs to differ:
“If you put on the shoes of the hiring manager, it’s important to understand that what they find online is their first impression of you,” she said. “If they can’t find you online, it’s not a good sign. It can either look like you have something to hide or nothing to show, both of which aren’t very impressive and may send you to the bottom of the resume pile.”
Keep your eyes peeled for candidates who have public profiles and post with potential employers in mind. After all, it is the internet, and everyone is looking.
Browse through social media profiles of the candidates you’re considering.2. The user posts inappropriate material regularly
Consider this: If you, as the hiring manager, can see the inappropriate material posted by the candidate, so can his or her family members. If the content posted by the person you’re considering for the job is vulgar, embarrassing, and inappropriate for the majority of the audience, these are red flags on social media and it’s time to toss the resume to the side.
3. Posts lack proper spelling and grammar
Your candidate can easily get a friend, family member, or professional to copy-edit his or her resume before sending it to your inbox. You can really tell if he or she lacks spelling and grammar skills by the way they talk on social media. According to Talent Management and HR, nearly 30 percent of candidates become undesirable to hiring managers because of communication errors like spelling or grammar.
Someone who uses abbreviations and acronyms shouldn’t be on your red flags at work list, but candidates who clearly don’t know the difference between “there,” “their” and “they’re” may have difficulty communicating professionally in your office.
4. The accounts are used for ranting
Candidates who constantly use social media as an outlet for ranting should be reconsidered. Not only does this show that they possess a negative and pessimistic attitude, but it can be a clear red flag at work that they’ll use their accounts to get fired up about a bad day at work and talk down about the company. Candidates who show that they don’t typically think before they post could impact your company’s reputation in the long run, so it’s important to think twice about their potential.
During your next recruiting process, keep these social media red flags in mind to avoid hiring an unprofessional candidate who doesn’t fit the company culture.