Your Future Employer is looking

• Paula West
• March 18, 2022
• Newsletter Article

As a Gen Xer, our teen years coincided with the teen years of the internet. We had terrible email addresses, learnt new platforms, and were the first to have social media accounts. These firsts came with a rule that was driven deep into our cores. If there was something we would not say or want our Grandparents to see, do not post it on the internet. That rule of thumb seems to have been lost. Do not allow an emotionally charged post to make waves in your future.

Your posts are your story; the part of you that you are sharing with the world. What you might forget is who looking and reading your comments. Ask yourself, do you want your future or current employer to see unflattering pictures of you partying too hard? The answer is no; you do not. Over 90% of employers will search your social media posts during the interview phase. Cleaning up your social feeds can stop those posts from being the barrier to your next career, or even a promotion within your current company.

What you need to know:

• Six degrees of separation is a real thing. Employers will access your social accounts through their networks.
• Anybody with a Snapchat account will be able to view your public story snaps even if you are not friends with them.
• Political posts can influence your career. Positively or negatively, and you do not get to choose which.
• The people you follow and groups you belong to can influence your interview process.

What can you do to audit on yourself on the internet? First, Google yourself. Look at what comes up. Look at the page results, news results, and images. Are you happy with what you discover? Be prepared to discuss any of these findings during an interview.

How you can scrub your feeds clean:

• Go through your accounts, delete old posts that do not reflect your current self.
• Do not allow people to tag you in their photos. Be sure tagged images represent you properly.
• Deactivate old accounts.
• Reset all your privacy settings on your accounts.
• View your posts from other people’s perspective, future employers, co-workers, friends, and family.
• Remove any information that identifies your location and contact information.

Future employers do want to see that you have a life, friends, enjoy family and events. Your posts should include gratitude, appropriate humour, and support for others. Show positivity and the ‘good reel.’ Highlight yourself as someone that a future employer would enjoy having on their team.

For more career advice, visit our career success library at AgCareers.com