“Awesome: Your tweet was viewed 5, 243 times!”
Did you know that your social media audience is larger than you think? According to BufferSocial, your social media audience is about 4X than you think. That being the case; social media can make or break your career prospects.
It is now emerging that social media is being used by employers and prospective employers to study the personalities of their employees. There have been cases where candidates have been turned down for jobs during interviews when it emerged that they posted a foul-mouthed post or tweet despite meeting all the qualifications for the job.
So is this the beginning of social media monitoring by employers and human resource departments? Not exactly so, but what it means is that you never know what impact your post could create. You have probably read news of executives and famous celebrities who ruined their careers for posting something stupid. Last year, New York City Fired Department Commissioner, Salvatore Cassano’s son (JosephyCassano) was forced to resign after posting a series of racist tweets. There are many high-profile cases of inappropriate social media posting, which have been reported in the news.
This is a clear indicator that social media can greatly affect your career. In fact, psychologists think that your social media posts reflect your personality. According to a 2011 survey, it was reported that a whopping 91% of employers use LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to screen candidates. It is surprising that the number of candidates getting rejected for something they posted on a social networking site is increasing.
Since social media can negatively affect your career, the opposite can be the case as well. So why not take this opportunity to post useful information? Perhaps it could propel your career growth, assist you to network and help you to display a positive image. Image is important in both career and business.
Do you think social media can have a huge negative influence on your career? Share your thoughts in a comment below!
