Are You Not Finding a Job? Or Are Future Employers Running Away From You?
We all know that the current economy isn’t like the economy of a decade ago (or even five years ago). We know of friends, neighbors, or even our own family members who can’t seem to land a job no matter how hard they try or what they do.

Perhaps it’s not that the ones you care about can’t FIND a job. Maybe the employers just don’t like what they see on their social networking pages.

Like it or not, employers are using social media more and more for checking out job candidates to see if they’re the best for the position available. In fact, according to a recently published study, 92% of employers are currently using or will be using social media for hiring this year.

So what will employers be looking for on your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn profiles? Here are some qualities that employers are keeping their eyes peeled for:

You Have a Positive Nature – Status updates that are negative in tone can turn off some employers, especially if it’s constant. After all, who wants to work with someone who’s going to do nothing but complain all the time? If you tend to have positive status updates or a positive outlook on life, you will seem more appealing to employers.

You’re Honest and Clean – Lying about your qualifications and abusing drugs and alcohol are big no-noes in the working world. This goes for pictures that include alcohol or drugs as well. Bad-mouthing your former employers is also seen as a huge turn-off to many employers. Remember – keep it honest, and keep it clean.

You Volunteer – If you volunteer in your spare time, then don’t be afraid to tell the world once in a while or put it in your profile information! Employers tend to love those who volunteer because they view that person as having a kind, caring, and selfless nature (and maybe that nature will carry over into that person’s day job, too!).

Here are some qualities or actions that are posted on social media that could cause your potential employer to turn and run the other way (quickly!):

Your Posts are Explicit in Nature – References to illicit drugs, mentions of alcohol consumption, and posts that are sexual in nature tend to be viewed in a very negative manner by a large majority of employers, which leads to a lack of a job in the future.

You Disregard Using Proper Grammar – You may have graduated with honors from college recently, but if your updates and content are all riddled with grammatical errors and misspellings, this could spell disaster to your potential employer.

You Post Suggestive Pictures – If the photos you post show any drugs, alcohol consumption, or anything suggestive or sexual in nature, your potential employer might think that you have yet to mature and aren’t qualified for the job. I suggest that you refrain from posting pictures of you enjoying an alcoholic beverage, especially if you’re underage.

Remember, your social networks give the world a glimpse of who you are, and this includes any and all future employers. Even if you don’t give out your social networking information, your potential boss will look you up anyway. Keep in mind that they are very likely to scope out your profiles, especially if they need to weed out some candidates from the opening.

Think you don’t need to be on social media? Think again. If employers notice that you aren’t on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter, they will not only think that you’re outdated, but they might also suspect that you may be hiding something, which puts you in an untrustworthy light.

So how comfortable would you be if your employer or future employer looked you up and started raking through your social media accounts?

If you would like to learn more about me, please visit www.dawnmushill.com or email me at dawn@dawnmushill.com. Make it a great day!