Roving Careers Reporter Beka Kimberley offers advice on your digital footprint.
If you have been following our blog over this year (and if you haven’t, you really should- it’s very good!) you will have seen some posts on how to present yourself on LinkedIn.
That’s really important, after all LinkedIn is increasingly being used by a huge range of companies to directly recruit for roles.
However, did you know that 59% of UK employers also search their potential hires internet presence and make judgements about how suitable they would be based on what they find? Obviously, your LinkedIn profile forms part of that- but that’s just one aspect! So, what are they looking for and what do they really not want to see?
The big “nos”
Unsurprisingly, illegal drug use and references to excessive alcohol/drunkenness come high on a recruiter’s “no list.” However, you may be surprised to hear around half employers surveyed say they wouldn’t hire someone who has mulitple errors with spelling and grammar on social media. So it’s not just CVs that are worth spell-checking!
You might also be surprised to know that some employers view “too much” social media presence negatively. Numbers vary but 7-25% of employers say they would be put off by someone posting a lot of selfies (although this has dropped year on year as selfies becomes more ubiquitous).
Even more confusingly, 12% of employers view having limited social media presence as potentially problematic.
Context is everything here! If you have a fashion-focused Instagram account with lots of photos of your latest look and you are applying for a job in marketing then this is likely to be viewed positively.
Another example of context is the 29% of employers who view political views and activity negatively. Of course, someone applying to a campaign group for reducing homelessness who has a well-researched, opinion based blog on social housing policy is going to win plus points. Emotion driven, evidence-poor rants on controversial issues are not going to go down so well, especially with employers who need to be sensitive to a broad-base of public and customer perception.
In fact, the top turn off for UK recruiters is aggressive or offensive language. 75% of recruiters who check say that getting drawn into personal arguments and a lack of respect when you disagree with someone is a big red flag -so watch your words!
We really don’t mean to scare-monger here. Everyone makes the odd typo and employers don’t expect perfection. But if these stats have got you thinking about your online presence- google yourself! (If you get a lot of results, not related to you, then use your name plus another identifier like King’s + degree subject). Think about the professional persona you are trying to project in applications: is there’s anything in the search that contradicts this? If so, it might be time to consider deleting it, making it private or changing the name you post under.
So what are the positives?
A good LinkedIn profile works wonders… look here for our top tips on how to make your work for you!
Two thirds of employers are impressed by community engagement, volunteering, mentoring or supporting non-profit organisations in some way.
For those with an interest in getting ahead in creative then an online portfolio of your work is key to capturing interest.
Around a third of employers are looking to see if you have mutual connections with existing – or even former- employees. LinkedIn or industry-specific sites like Dots are key here!