Think Twice Before You Post That Party Pic on Facebook, Employers Have Eyes & Ears Everywhere

Source - Facebook is a great way to find friends from the past, connect with friends from school, and to even make new friends. I love posting pictures of my new adventures, birthdays, and yealy vacations, but did you ever think your employer was going to go through your facebook before they hire you? A new poll suggest that 60% of companies google, and go through a prospective candidate’s online presense before they hire them.
A even more shocking trend is that 39% of employers did not continue with a prospective candidate because of what they found. I remember my first real internship I applied for at a law firm, I was so excited to get an interview. I walked into the office, and the guy hands me a printout of an old My Style Article written about me in Bella Naija from 2009.
Nontheless he still hired me, but what if I had some risque pictures of myself plastered all over the internet. Ever since that situaion has happened to me, I am very careful of what I put on the internet. Here are some tips you should think about for your online presence.

Monitor the pictures you post on facebook

No one is saying to not have pictures of yourself having a good time with friends, but proceed with caution. Yes, facebook is your own private space, but you should think to yourself, would I want an employer seeing this? If you are admant of keeping all your pictures on facebook, put it in a private setting, and monitor who you accept on facebook.

Think about what you say on social media sites

Not only can you be penalized for a future job, but also for a current job as well. It is not a smart idea to tweet about how much alcohol you are having on the job, or what porn websites you are going to. You do not have to censor everything you say on social media sites, but be mindful who is watching. A woman almost didn’t get a major VP position in a different country, because of the radical view points she had displayed all over the web.

Be in control of what is out on the web

Have you ever googled yourself? You will be surprised on what gets pulled up in the search results. Every now again you should Google your own name to monitor what good and bad things are out there on the web of yourself. Ways you can change around a less positive image is by creating a yourname.com website with a virtual resume and listing some of the accomplishments you have reached. Not only do I monitor what is out there, but I also make sure that I am active in writing articles about my area of expertise so employers can see I am a thought leader in my industry.
Think about what you have posted on all of your social media sites, will your future or current employer be happy with what they see?

Written by Chika Uwazie
#NaijaCareerist