Staffing Insurance: Social Media & the Job Hunt
Social media is more than a buzz word. It’s revolutionized communication and completely changed how we connect with our friends and family. Now, it’s entered the job hunt too. Presented by World Wide Specialty Program’s Staffing Insurance.
According to a study by Eurocom Worldwide reported in Forbes, 1 in 5 technology industry executives say that a candidate’s social media profile caused them to reject an applicant. Almost 40 percent of survey respondents from technology companies review job candidate’s profiles on social media websites.
Some tips to advise your candidates on. For personal social media, it’s simple- if you don’t want it on the front page of a newspaper, don’t post it. Facebook and Twitter are not open forums to vent about your relationship, job, or a fight you just had- that’s what your friends are for. CEO’s have lost their job over mis-tweeting private company information- it is easy for an angry or potentially controversial tweet to be misconstrued and hurt your job prospects.
Professional sites such as LinkedIn can be a great opportunity to develop a strong, professional presence online. Make sure candidates have their entire resume, a professional picture, and past testimonials or recommendations for potential employer to review.
With that said, you don’t need to strip down your social media profiles. Employers want to see your personality, not a stripped down, mundane version of yourself. Make sure you are consistent with your personality and interests across the board; you want to give the same impression throughout.
In some cases people have used social media to find a job. In one instance, a recent college graduate set his career goal for an advertising agency, Saatchi & Saatchi LA and set a plan to accomplish that goal labeled, Guerrilla Marketing: the Facebook Job Experiment. Using Facebook’s advertising, he was able to target that agency’s Human Resources department & their staffing agency. Both employees & the staffing agency were then directed to his professional LinkedIn profile. In total, this ‘guerrilla marketing’ stunt cost him $3.43 & a job interview.
World Wide Specialty Programs has always had a singular purpose – to design, develop and provide staffing insurance products for the staffing industry. Our method is simple: track those changes; listen to emerging needs, and respond. We work with over 2,000 insurance brokers nationwide. We know this industry better than any. Contact us today for more information about our staffing insurance programs.
Picture from How Employers Really Feel About Social Media [INFOGRAPHIC]
Source: Guerrilla Cheese Marketing