Social media has become an integral part of our everyday lives. Nowadays there is nothing you won’t find on social media. Companies not only use it to reach their target audience but also to search for suitable candidates to hire.

While social media is a great way to connect with family, friends, colleagues, know about latest job vacancy and also find information about potential companies/employers etc. it has the power to make or break your career. Many employers and recruiters use social networks to screen potential job candidates. This means they look through your social media profiles and evaluate your character and personality based on the kind of posts you have there. Negative posts and comments can put them off and this will, in turn, affect their hiring decisions.

Here are 3 things you do on social media that can prevent you from getting hired:

Provocative or Inappropriate Photos and Information

Many recruiters have had to reject a candidate because they found inappropriate photos and information (drinking, drug use, vulgar words, etc.) on their social networks. While you might think that this is your personal life and has nothing to do with your performance on the job, remember that you will be representing the company you work for, and your behaviour can have an impact on the company as well. You need to be mindful of the kind of info you put out there and know the limit as to what is acceptable and what is not.

Contents Bad Mouthing Previous Employers

Regardless of your bad experience with your former employer, badmouthing an ex-employer on social media is reckless and can hurt your career. No employer would want to hire someone who would do the same thing to their company.

False Qualifications

As a result of the competition for available jobs in the job market, jobseekers put themselves forward in the best possible light, so as to stand out from the crowd. You find some of them going as far as lying about their qualifications just to get seen. Sometimes when recruiters visit a candidate’s social media profile for example LinkedIn, they find qualifications and skills different from what he (the jobseeker) has on his CV. This can automatically disqualify him.

If you’re searching for a new job, you might want to clean up your social media accounts, much of what you post to the Internet and in some cases what others post about you can be found by potential employers, and this can affect your chances of getting hired. Take down anything that could be viewed as unprofessional and inappropriate by potential employers.

ARTICLE ON OUR BLOG - http://www.careerhubafrica.com/blog/3-ways-social-media-can-hurt-chances-getting-hired/