By Hafsa Mulla — Ryerson Free
Press (Ryerson University)

For more stories from this school visit
Ryerson Free Press.

TORONTO (CUP) — Most job applicants
have a standard checklist before a
job interview: Prim business attire,
luminously thorough resume and a stellar
combination of zest and intelligence.

However, if tweaking your Facebook
profile for a potential faux pas hasn’t
made the cut, maybe it should.

While you settle comfortably into
the digital age, it’s safe to say that your
online presence has now become a virtual
imprint that shadows you to an interview.
It is your subliminal curriculum vitae.

As online social networking grows
increasingly pervasive, many employers

are utilizing these websites to screen
potential job seekers. So, if your status
update reveals you had a solid Saturday
night coupled with gory comments,

it could be potential grounds for your
rejection letter.

According to a study conducted by
Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder.com,
45 per cent of employers use leading
social media outlets such as Facebook,
Twitter and LinkedIn to screen job
candidates. The study also found that
35 per cent of employers disregarded
candidates based on racy content
uncovered on leading social networking
sites.
“While resumes and interviews do
give you a bit of an insight to a person,
they can also be a facade,” said ANOKHI
magazine fashion editor Jacqueline

   

Parrish. “People’s unguarded social media
profiles, however, provide you with a raw
look at the job seeker as people rarely
censor their social media sites. Their
profiles tend to be a direct reflection of
them.”

Provocative photos and references
to drinking and drug use are the key
contributing factors in the hiring process
after online-screening. However, many
of us are oblivious to the fact that poor
online communication skills are also a
stumbling block.

A hyper-articulate Twitter timeline can
polish one’s virtual persona, and in the
same light, it can cause damage through
inappropriate Twitter feeds.

“A quick Google search of a candidate
— whom I had pegged as a potential
intern — revealed tweets that looked ‘lyk

(Penuite

Recruiters dig

digital dirt on job seekers

ths’ via Twitter,” said Parrish. “Suffice to
say, I wasn’t impressed and decided to
disqualify her.”

This is another rationale for dismissal:
The discrepancies that appear between
qualifications posted online and the
candidate’s actual resume. A virtual fib
is more than just a social blunder; it is
impermissible.

While most of these issues are primary
hindrances that keep us from landing
our dream job, what many of us need to
realize is that these drawbacks are easily
avoidable.

Tweak your privacy settings with
just a scroll and a click and tailor them
according to what is considered tasteful.

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