(Psst…they’re definitely looking!)
Looking for a job, or have an interview lined up? It’s time for a social media spring clean! Your online reputation is often determined by what can be found on your social media profiles, so don’t let historic social posts or unwanted content ruin your chances of landing that dream job.
Social media scrubbing, as it is often called, is becoming increasingly popular amongst both job candidates and employers, who can use social media cleaning to polish their online reputation and ensure that the results of a background check are always favourable.
The importance of conducting a thorough online reputation check of yourself or your business cannot be underestimated—it’s estimated that 90% of UK employers now use social media screening checks to verify the suitability of candidates and business partners, and 85% of UK companies report candidates regularly failing background checks. In some industries, social media screening checks are becoming increasingly common practice, such as healthcare (in which a reported 1 in 5 candidates fail checks in the UK), financial services, law, policing and other sensitive sectors.
The reasons for failure?
Controversial or illegal content, discriminatory language, evidence of unprofessionalism or airing grievances about former employers are the usual culprits. Also keep in mind that even wayback historic content can resurface front and centre in a thorough social media report, which means that your current social media persona may not be enough to pass the test.
For businesses and business owners the necessity of performing a social media clean up is even more pressing, with repercussions on overall company reputation and hiring power. Yup, potential candidates always check a company’s social media channels, so you need to make sure you’re presenting as positive an image as possible.
Got the fear now? Fret not—here, we present the complete guide to social media scrubbing for both employers and job seekers, from who should clean up social media content, to how to perform a thorough social media ‘glow up’.
What is a social media clean up?
Sometimes called social media cleaning or social media scrubbing, a social media clean up involves a thorough check of an individual or business’ social media accounts, followed by the edit or removal of unwanted posts, comments, videos or other content.
The cleaning process can be done manually, by the person or company who owns the social media accounts likely to be looked at, or using a social media scrubbing tool or software.
Who should do a social media clean up?
A social media clean up is advisable for anyone, in fact, whether they’re in current employment or seeking a new career move. According to a YouGov survey, nearly one in five employers (19%) have turned down a candidate for a job at their company because of their online activity. The same survey also found that large companies are prolific social media checkers, with 80% of big organisations profiled stating that they are likely to look at a candidate’s social media activity.
Although particularly important for job seekers to ‘scrub’ their social media, individuals who are currently employed should look into doing a similar spring clean of their posts and other online content. As company policies evolve to take into account the growing number of social media users, there are more reports of employees being cautioned or even fired for content shared on social media. 1200 NHS workers were reported to have been disciplined for inappropriate use of social media and messaging apps, as an example.
It’s also advisable for a business or company to perform a social media clean up too—potential employees, prospective customers and future business partners are more than likely to look you up before they attend an interview or meeting.
How to clean your social media in 5 steps
Cleaning up your social media involves a little time, organisation and persistence. Depending on the quantity of your social media output over the years, you may need to dedicate a day to the task. You can use a social media scrubber tool to review content, but it’s also a good idea to take the time to do a manual check to ensure nothing has been overlooked.
This 5-step guide to how to clean your social media is a failsafe method for whipping your online presence into shape for any future interview.
01 - Take an inventory of all accounts, posts and visible content
The first step in cleaning your social media is to do some housekeeping. Cast your mind back to when you first started using social media and the internet generally—you may still have dormant or rarely used accounts on older social networking sites like Myspace or Beebo.
If you’re cleaning up social media for a company, it’s possible that past employees have created accounts using your company name, so it’s important to locate and access these to be able to have full control over your company’s online presence and reputation.
Employers and companies will be able to see an overview of a candidate’s social media using a background screening tool like YOONO, which shows a range of media sourced from platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, but will also flag content that is assessed to contain controversial or offensive themes, words or images. It may be that a social media check highlights particular posts you may not have considered, or that are historic, so it’s worth going over everything with a fine-toothed comb.
Once you have a master list of all accounts which are either owned directly by you or have been created in you or your company’s name, you should then determine whether each of these has been set as a private, semi-private or public account. At this point you can change your privacy settings to remove some accounts from public view, but keep in mind that you may want to keep some social media publicly visible as it can be picked up on in social media checks that you have recently set accounts to private, implying a possible intention to conceal some information.
02 - Delete inactive accounts or outdated media
Inactive accounts are social media ‘dead weight’ that can really impact on the results of a social media check. Historic posts that contain images of a wild night out or teenage-era comments that you would never say now—these types of content can easily come back to haunt you and damage your job prospects.
Identify any accounts which you no longer use and delete or archive them. As they will not have shown much activity lately, they are less likely to surface towards the top of a social media report, but better safe than sorry.
The same process goes for outdated media or historic content which no longer reflects the person or company you are now. This is no time for a nostalgia trip. Old posts, comments and shares that are no longer relevant should be removed.
03 - Remove or edit content that is potentially ‘inappropriate’
While party pictures and holiday drinks might not give the most professional impression, what a social media check is really looking for is adverse media. This is online content that would be considered negative, illegal or offensive, and could indicate a risk to the hiring company. Examples of adverse media could include content relating to substance abuse, financial crime or other criminal activity, corruption or illegal actions.
While these are extreme examples and are unlikely to be present on your own social media channels, there is also a wider pool of content that could be considered ‘inappropriate’ by a potential employer or business partner. For example, photos of alcohol use, sexually suggestive imagery or content that airs grievances or complaints about former employers.
Put yourself into the shoes of the person viewing your posts—would you want to hire you based on what you can see? If not, do a full sweep of any potentially borderline content, removing anything that can’t be edited to tone down the themes.
04 - Unfollow any inappropriate accounts and reconsider your friends list
Are social media friends always the best friends to have? Nope. While most people use social media to simply share updates about everyday life, others in your friends list might also use their channels to promote controversial views or share offensive content.
With some AI screening tools, like YOONO, it’s possible to see a person’s connections, and it’s likely that anyone you are somehow connected with controversial content will be flagged in your own report. The same goes for accounts belonging to companies, organisations or groups which have been known to share questionable content now and then.
If in doubt, hit the unfollow button.
05 - Tidy up your profile picture(s) and bio
We often neglect how people engage with our social media first, which is usually through our profile picture and bio copy at the top of our profile.
If it’s been a while since you’ve updated yours, consider using a professional headshot (no wild night out group shots please) and polish your bio to give a concise summary of who you are as a person (and prospective job candidate). You could also drop in links to your own website, LinkedIn profile or portfolio, if you have one.
Your social media…spruced up!
Equally important for both job seekers and businesses, social media is the most widely viewed platform through which employers, clients and potential collaborators get an instant sense of who you are, and whether you’ll be the right fit for them.
A spring clean of your social media is a great way of ‘keeping house’ before you apply for a job, or if you’re looking to entice new people to work for your business. Remember that just one negative or less-than-ideal post can really turn someone’s opinion, so it’s well worth doing a thorough job.
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It can be challenging to figure out if they are, well, just right. An intelligent background report from YOONO gives you deeper insights into who your candidates really are, and how they’ll gel (or not) if you extend a job offer. Don’t risk another poor hire. When YOONO, you know. Try searching for an individual today at no initial cost, and see how our smart search can transform the way you screen and hire.