Well, maybe you're right, but the fact is that they do. And if it gives them a more honest and well-rounded view of who you are (because no one is as perfect in real life as they are in an interview), then who can blame them?
Does this mean you have to be little-miss-goody-two-shoes on Facebook all the time?
Fortunately not, what fun would that be? But what you do have to do is stop marking everything you post as public. Pictures of you after a few too many with the caption "Yolo" is not the type of message you want to be sending to a prospective employer, but by not marking the album "Friends Only" you're basically inviting them to look.
The same goes for slanderous comments about previous employers and an inaccurate representation of qualifications, according to Career Builder, who surveyed more than 2100 hiring managers and HR professionals about hiring practices regarding social media.
The top issues companies cited as reasons for not hiring candidates included provocative/inappropriate photos, alcohol or drug usage, badmouthing previous employers, poor communication skills, discriminatory comments related to race, gender, religion etc., and lying about qualifications.
However, every coin has two sides.
The upside of employers snooping around your online profiles is that they can be swayed both ways. This means that it the same way that wryting lyk dis and splashing provocative photos online can see you lose job opportunities, showing good communication skills, creativity and a wide range of interests can set you apart from others and end up landing you the position.
One in five hiring managers said they found something on a social profile that influenced the hiring decision positively. These included the candidate conveying a professional image, getting a good feel for a candidate's personality, candidates with well-rounded interests, background information supporting professional qualifications, creativity, great communication skills, and other people posting good references about the candidate.
When you consider that two in five companies are using social media to research job candidates, and that South African stats are probably not far behind (and why risk it anyway?), it makes sense to be a bit more cautious when posting online.
Ask yourself, "How does this post make me look to a prospective employer?" and if the answer is anything but "really good", rather mark it as private.
Staff Training is a soft skills training provider with more than 40 workshops available. Contact us at info@stafftraining.co.za or (021) 839 3021