Dear Reader: That old adage still rings true that you shouldn’t post anything controversial on your social media handles that you wouldn’t want to see on the front page or homepage of a news outlet. If you’re looking for a new job, how cautious do you need to be?

Marketing yourself, whether you’re happily employed or looking for new work, is always important for your career and it’s easier than ever to do it online via your social media accounts to get noticed.

According to new data from Canva, 68% of hiring managers check out candidates’ social media profiles at least most of the time. In particular, 94% of hiring managers said they value it when candidates’ social media or online presence is related to their career.

This column serves as an important reminder to assume employers may be scanning your social media feeds, whether you’re a current employee or a future one. If you want to share personal photos and/or posts you don’t want the whole world seeing, then utilize privacy features.

I checked in with a variety of sources to see how impactful social media is (or isn’t) lately regarding hiring. Their answers are across the board; so while you never know to what extent a company relies on your social media for hiring decisions, assume they do.

Your cover letter, resume, interview performance and interaction/rapport with the employer will likely weigh more heavily in their hiring decision. Sometimes, however, your social media accounts can push them in either direction to proceed wholeheartedly with your candidacy or stop it in its tracks, based on the content you’re posting.

Matt Collingwood, managing director of recruitment at VIQU, an IT and tech recruitment agency, said, “Checking the social media of a candidate is often an insightful and important step during the hiring process. It’s important to look out for and evaluate potential risks.”

For instance, Collingwood’s company noticed a candidate whose LinkedIn profile included extreme political views. The client they were recruiting on behalf of viewed this candidate as a perceived risk with their customers, so they were reluctant to proceed.

“In contrast,” Collingwood continued, “a turn on in terms of a candidate’s social media profile is if they use it for their own personal branding. Having an employee with a strong online presence and personal branding can help to boost the company’s brand or bring in new customers.”

Jake Canull, regional director at Top Employers Institute, said to think of social media as a supplemental tool, and it “should be approached with mindfulness to avoid any bias that would result in an unfair hiring decision.”

Positive aspects he looks for are the following: engagement around the profession or industry, sharing industry related content, posts on thought leadership, inclusion in associations/networks and community contributions (volunteering).

As for major turn offs, that includes hate speech or inappropriate content that does not align with the hiring company values in addition to anything that would reflect discrepancies with their resume/application.

Tribune News Service