What pops up when you do a google search of your name? How about at the "images" and "videos" sections?
Have you ever tried auditing your social media footprint?
Frequent and broad social media users may be surprised to discover how large a digital footprint is left on the web, since the beginning of use.
Digital footprint or digital shadow refers to one's unique set of traceable digital activities, actions, contributions and communications manifested on the Internet or digital devices (Wikipedia, 2021).
The recruiter's perspective
In my experience as a recruiter thus far, I have not been given the luxury of time to dive deep into every single candidate's social media content.
Neither do most of the hiring managers or HR I work with.
But frankly, if we are given the time and space, I believe we would choose to do so.
Why? Often, what we've written online reveals more about who we are as an individual than what we are willing or able to reveal within a short 1-hour interview.
Noteworthy statistics
According to a CareerBuilders survey (2018), 70% of employers do look at what candidates post on their Facebook (now known as Meta), Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and other accounts.
1 out of 2 companies rule out hiring a candidate because of the content they have found (CBS News, 2018).
On the other end of the spectrum, if the employer couldn't find the candidate online at all, 1 out of 2 companies were less likely to shortlist a candidate for interview (CBS News, 2018).
In other words, make sure you have some form of online presence, and whatever content your prospective employer can find online about you, ensure that it works to your maximum favour.
A few tips
Below are a few online literature recommendations for your reading pleasure I find useful enough, covering what you should be concerned about and how to clean up your digital footprint.
Effective personal branding
Watching what you post on social media is only the beginning of building a good personal brand.
To enhance employability, your critical next steps would be building up a strong LinkedIn profile, presence, and network if you have yet to do so.
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