• 3 OUT OF 4 RECRUITERS check a candidate’s social media profile during the hiring process – even if they are not provided one.
   

• 1 OUT OF 3 EMPLOYERS have rejected candidates based on something they found their social media accounts.
   

Social recruiting (or leveraging social media during the recruiting process) is the norm; 92 PERCENT OF RECRUITERS LEVERAGE SOCIAL MEDIA when they are on the hunt for candidates. And it is not just LinkedIn. While 87 percent use LinkedIn (especially when vetting candidates under the age of 45), 55 percent use Facebook, and 47 percent use Twitter. And it is not just the (relatively) old established social media channels; 3 percent of recruiters use Snapchat during the recruiting process, while 11 percent read through a candidate’s blog site and 8 percent leverage Instagram.
 

Therefore, if social media is important to recruiters, then using social media during the job search is also very important.
 

SO HOW DO YOU HANDLE YOURSELF IN THIS NEW AGE OF SOCIAL RECRUITING?
 

By asking yourself this one question before you post or share anything. Would you offer this information during an actual interview? If not, do not offer that information via social media. Someone will see it.
 

Here are some other tips:

1. Be careful with what you post. Even though this was mentioned above, there are certain things that you should just not share. Do not post photos of yourself doing anything illegal (yes, that does include marijuana and other illegal drugs…72 PERCENT OF RECRUITERS VIEW THAT NEGATIVELY), anything of a sexual nature (yes, that does include the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition) or alcohol consumption – the older the recruiter, the less likely he will find a photo of you slamming down a Miller Lite endearing.
    

2. When posting on social media, watch for typos. You may think that Facebook or Twitter are casual forums, but 71 PERCENT OF RECRUITERS VIEW TYPOS NEGATIVELY. Think about it. Spelling is a basic skill, and recruiters are going to look for any indication that you have this basic skill.
    

3. Put a picture on your social media profiles. 41% OF RECRUITERS claim that seeing a candidate’s photo prior to meeting them will “influence their first impression”. So make whatever photo you put on your social media accounts a good one.
    

4. Stay away from political rants and pontifications on social media. ABOUT 10% OF RECRUITERS view rants about political affiliations negatively.  However, this last year’s election was an extremely divisive one, and, according to a recent survey, it could impact your job search if you are not careful.  64 percent of recruiters admit to being more biased towards a Donald Trump supporter than a Hilary Clinton supporter.  Whether or not that bias was negative or positive is not clear, so be careful.
    

5. Eradicating all of your social profiles is not the answer. Recruiters expect to find something when they search for you online. Therefore, you need to find a balance between your professional profiles and your personal profiles. You cannot hide in a hole and avoid social media anymore. How you manage your social presence can make or break your job search. 35 PERCENT OF RECRUITERS will not even interview candidates who do not have any kind of social media profile. So take control, and start thinking of your social media profiles as your employee brand. In a weird way take a page from the Kardashians.  Social media is a tool that the entire family uses to present an image to the world….and they are very good at it. Now, whereas you do not want to appear as a Kardashian wannabe to a targeted employer, you need to start thinking on how every post, tweet and share will impact how the recruiter and/or hiring manager will view you.
    

Do not underestimate the power of your social media profiles, to show off your skills (LinkedIn), your reputation (LinkedIn), your personality (Facebook) and your judgement (Twitter). So leverage what you have and use all the tools at your disposal to help you land your next best-fit job.