According to Career Builder, 43 percent of businesses check out the social media profiles of potential job candidates to learn more about them. Job interviews can tell you a lot about a candidate, but social media can provide some more information that you may not have been able to find out in a meeting.
Watching for Social Media Red Flags
When you’re planning on adding someone to your team, you want to know just what type of person you’re hiring. Social media can show off a whole new side of a person – and it’s not always good. Some red flags that you can find on social media include:
- Inappropriate photos or messages
- Bad mouthing their current or past employer
- Discriminatory messages or comments
- Evidence of potential illegal activity
In this day and age, candidates should know that potential employers might be looking through their social media profiles. If they can’t stop themselves from posting those embarrassing photos or that offensive status from a personal account, what’s to stop them from making the same bad decision at work?
Signs of a Good Candidate
Warning signs aren’t the only things you can find on social media. A job candidate’s social media profiles can help you get a sense of their personality and what they’re like outside of an office setting.
If they run a professional, updated profile on LinkedIn, it’s a sign that they are serious about their career. Facebook and Twitter can also serve as a means of information outside of looking for red flags. Social profiles can help you verify some information that the candidate may have given you. Even better, social media helps you figure out a candidate’s personality, allowing you to get a sense of if he or she might be a good fit for your company’s culture.
Hire the Right People for Your Company
You need more than just the right resume for your team; you need the right person. GMS has experts that can help your company with employee recruiting and training services, letting you find the right candidate for your open position. Contact us today to learn more about how GMS can benefit your business.