More employers are turning to the internet and social media forums to assess the suitability of candidates before they even meet them through the recruitment process. Admittedly, most users of social networking sites aren’t thinking of what a potential future employer might think of their content when they are posting updates or chatting in forums. Most crucially, the way individuals present their profiles online panders to the ‘social’ aspect of such media. It might be time for professionals to think again before committing personal thoughts and expressions to the net. The very nature of social media means that it is there to be shared. So while you may only be thinking about the non-work side of your life and act in what you think is a private fashion outside of work, the reality is that your online activity is not bound by the same parameters. When using platforms such as LinkedIn, you will pay much closer attention to the way you present yourself, as this site is well known as a forum for professional networking and recruiting. Yet because you may not use tools such as Facebook or Twitter to find your next employer, that doesn’t mean the next potential employer isn’t using those to check up on you. There is nothing wrong with your prospective employer seeing that you are a fun-loving individual with a healthy social life. However, you might want to think about how much you openly share and which more private content you keep as such. Bragging online will almost always turn round to bite you, and the tendency of naive users to ‘big themselves up’ with falsehoods and risque remarks is unlikely to end well. Personal use of social media platforms can play an important role in the recruitment of marketing professionals, and it can have both positive and negative impacts. Good uses of such media can prove a person’s abilities in this field and may support claims presented on CVs. Poor use of social media and a lack of understanding of the implications of it can highlight an individual’s shortcomings. When searching for a new marketing role, assume that marketing recruitment agencies in Birmingham are taking a look at your online profile and edit accordingly. Recruiters might never reveal that they have been tracking your activity online, but it is always safer to present an image consistent with that you might wish to present at interview. Ask marketing recruitment agencies in Birmingham what they think of your social media presence and whether potential employers would find issue with it.
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