Social media posts may come back to haunt job seekers

JACKSON, Tenn.– Posts on social media can come back to haunt you, especially when you start looking for work.

“It definitely can. Especially in this day and age, employers use that as a screening tool,” Ariel McGahey, American Job Center One Stop operator, said. 

McGahey shared some of the things they look for when checking out job seekers.

“Does this person have good judgment when posting things?” McGahey said. “Do they talk badly about their previous employer?”

McGahey says she has made hiring decisions based on her findings.

“When we did a precursor search on their social media, we did see a lot of constantly talking about their job, being frustrated by things, talking about clients by name,” she said.

Have you ever wanted your own, personal website? Career specialists at the American Job Center say that’s what social media does, and you need to market yourself like you would on a normal website.

“You want to think about, ‘Is this how I want to present myself to the world? Is this how I’m trying to present myself and my mission and my goals for myself?'” McGahey said.

You also need to monitor what information about you is online.

“Google your first and last name and the city you live in, and see what comes up,” McGahey said. “When I did that a few years ago, I was surprised. There were things that I didn’t even know were out there that I had been posted in.”

McGahey has one last piece of advice for potential employees. “If you don’t want a group of strangers at a restaurant  seeing it, don’t post it online.”