Be careful what you say online - your next employer might be listening

Not all employers research their potential employees online…yet. The growth of social media means it’s now increasingly easy for employers to access all sorts of information about the personal life of those they are looking to employ.

As of July 2010, the UK had around 26 million Facebook users. Earlier in 2010, research by job search website careerbuilder.co.uk showed 53% of UK employers search for their potential employees online before hiring them.

With a little help from Google or a quick scan of the most popular social media sites, your next employer can access your profile. What do you think they’ll think about those photos you put up yesterday from your Saturday night out on the town?

So what does your Facebook/LinkedIn/Twitter profile say about you? And more importantly, would you want your next employer to see it? Are there any comments or pictures on there that will not represent you in the professional manner expected of you at work?

4 out of 10 employers decided not to hire someone because of things they’ve seen on social media profiles. Reasons noted included lying about qualifications, evidence of excessive drinking or taking drugs, inappropriate photos and bad mouthing their previous employer.

The flipside of this of course is that social media sites give you the opportunity to enhance your image to employers. Your social profile may help improve your chances of them employing you, for example it may show you have the personality that fits in with what the employer is looking for or it may show off your communication skills, which may be pivotal to your new position. Similarly, if you are working for a company with a vibrant culture where employees regularly have social outings, having one or more pictures on your profile may make you look more interesting.

When you post something up online you are opening it up to everyone that is on the web. Here are some tips for you to help protect your image on social media sites:

• Before beginning your job search make sure you remove anything  you think may show you in a bad light – that means removing, if any, rude language and both inappropriate photos and conversations
• Don’t post anything on your profile or a friends profile that you wouldn’t want a prospective employer to see
•  Don’t whinge and moan on your profiles –it doesn’t paint a positive picture to employers so don’t do it
• Check your privacy settings – if you have the option, set your profile to private so that you limit your profile being seen by your friends only
• Check your profile regularly -  you can’t control what other people say on your profile but you can check and remove anything negative
• It may sound obvious – but don’t mention you’re job search online if you are still employed!
• Once you’ve got your new job consider where you are adding new colleagues. Is it appropriate to add your new boss on Facebook? Maybe not. LinkedIn however may be a good move.

Remember once you’ve got the job that it’s still important to maintain this -  48% of employers monitor employee’s use of email and the internet and 28% have fired an employee for information found on his or her social media profile so remember these tips.

Employers are starting to watch what you’re doing online. Only publish something if you are happy that potentially billions of web users can see it and clean up your profiles so that you have a better chance of securing that dream media sales job!