When it comes to candidates on social media, there seem to be horror stories galore. Somewhere between their excellent interview and their most recent update on Twitter, your latest candidate has transformed from the perfect match into a drunken big man who hopes their current boss is hit by a bus…Charming!
Luckily, candidates are becoming more and more switched on to the possible consequences of dodgy social media postings, making spotting top talent on social media a whole lot easier. Here are my top 5 tips on what to look out for:
1) Private wins!
If you look up a candidate and find their Facebook account locked down so tight you can’t get within 10 virtual feet of the thing, appreciate that it may be for your own good. Realistically, who doesn’t have some photos that they’d rather weren’t a potential employer’s first impression?
Accept that for the majority of candidates, a private page probably isn’t hiding anything more sinister than a few drunken night out statuses, with of course the pictures to follow…Totally fine for friends, they’d just rather you didn’t see them!
No harm, no foul.
2) Doing extra time on LinkedIn
Coming across a candidate with a fully updated LinkedIn profile is great, even better are those who are taking it further. Look out for regular names appearing in the LinkedIn groups of your target market. Getting involved in relevant discussions with like-minded professionals demonstrates genuine interest in their chosen career.
Also, keep an eye out for recurring themes in the personal recommendations. As these require more time and thought than the endorsements, they’re likely to be more personalised and truthful.
3) Separate Twitter accounts
3) Separate Twitter accountsAgain, it’s easy to jump to a negative conclusion about split Twitter accounts. If what they’re posting on their personal account is kosher, then why does it need to be separate? It doesn’t have to be, but it still makes good sense. Why bore all your friends with your work geek content, and similarly why expect all your professional contacts to be interested in you replying to your friends’ tweets about personal interests? See separate accounts for what they are, which is generally just candidates trying to keep a distinction between work and play, and give a great online impression to industry contacts.
4) Full access
On the other hand, what should you look for from a candidate whose social sites are an open book? Expecting to see a revolving series of social media sites with targeted, career focused posts and pictures is unrealistic. Instead, look for things which credit them as a person and not just a candidate. Use their social media presence to get a taste of their communication skills, a feel for their personality, some background info and then keep this is mind going forward to an interview. Not only will a little bit of research give you a better chance of securing the right candidate, but a more successful placement is to also likely to be achieved from a personal fit as well as a professional one.
5) Blogging
Maintaining a personal blog is a lot of hard work, so if a candidate has one and they are promoting it to advance their job hunt, then it’s probably worth taking a look. Even if what they’re writing about isn’t of much interest to you, what does it say about them? Creativity, passion, genuine interest and well-researched content all demonstrate desirable qualities and a unique selling point.
By Kara ShorthouseCredit: Image from photoraidz via freedigitalphotos.net
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