Credits: Social Media
Recruiter reveals 4 online behaviors that could sabotage your next career move
What was your first-ever email address? I know mine. I occasionally reveal it to friends for a laugh. Needless to say, I dont use it anymore&
Switching to a more *ahem* suitable, or should I say mature, email address may have helped me when vying for this job. Ditto that the majority of my social media activity is only visible to my friends. But employers do more than just scroll through your Facebook or Instagram, says one recruiter. Many are digging into Google. Hmm. Here are some pointers for cleaning up your digital presence, so that you dont unwittingly sabotage your next career move.
Ditch the unprofessional email address if you want to impress an employer
This is a no-brainer, but it bears repeating.
3 in 10 employers have rejected candidates due to unprofessional email addresses, according to Julian Goldie. Hes a marketer with experience in cleaning up individuals and companies digital footprints.�
“That quirky email you created in college could be costing you job opportunities, he says.
Incidentally, there are entire Reddit threads devoted to sharing old and amusing email addresses, some of which would require asterisks to be written here. Anyway, I invite you to search for them yourself; it would be untoward of us to go around publicizing any addresses that are still in use.
Three more things to watch out for, based on Julians analysis:
- Negative comments in public arguments online. “That heated debate you engaged in on a tech forum five years ago might be the reason you get rejected for your dream role,” Julian warns. Once something is online, its online forever unless you request a takedown or have the authority to delete it yourself.
- Unprofessional social media profiles. Julian cautions that nearly 1 in 5 recruiters have rejected a candidate after seeing their Facebook profile. Celebrities get canceled all the time for their decade-old tweets. Consider your digital footprint as it exists on social media.
- Small businesses: Avoid bad reviews like the plague. Before establishing their brand, businesses rely on customer reviews, and publicly viewable negative feedback can have huge knock-on effects on potential customers.
There’s a flip side to this final point, too. What about the negative reviews you’ve left on the Google Maps profiles of small businesses? How do they reflect on you?
Employers may be watching the hidden parts of your online activity
“Everyone focuses on their main social media accounts,” Julian says. They forget that old accounts, quick comments, and even post likes can still haunt them.
Its the hidden parts of your online activity you need to be aware of.
“Many [employers] are digging into Google, he warns. That includes reviews you’ve left under your name. A string of negative reviews makes you look critical, difficult, and even toxic in the workplace.”
On the other hand, if you have an established presence on a publicly viewable platform such as Google Maps, and you have a string of considered, thoughtful, and useful reviews to your name, this could serve you during the recruitment process.
When your reviews show a range of fair and thoughtful feedback, Julian says, it reflects a balanced perspective and suggests you’re not someone who jumps to negativity at every turn. Employers are more likely to see you as reasonable, objective, and capable of constructive criticism.
