Are You A Job Seeker?

 In today’s era, the need to connect with outside world via social media platforms is inevitable, but Social media can be both your best friend and your worst enemy in your job search. Although it can be an extremely valuable tool for learning about vacancies and creating a professional personal brand for yourself, all of your job hunting efforts could be crushed if you present yourself poorly and in a degrading way online. We set out to discover why some people apply for job while having clean documents, good degrees and the necessary qualifications, but they never go through or get employed.

We realised that the way one conducts themselves on social media counts a lot when employers are looking for whom to employ. Here they are;

1) Using fake names

A lot of people have Facebook accounts but what is surpring is that they never use their real names! The world we are in is very advanced in terms of technology and once an employer gets your phone number or email address, it's enough for them to type that in the Facebook's search engine box and look for you. It will really be a shaming for your employer to be, to find out that you are not even trust Worthy to yourself by impersonating someone or using a name that is not yours!. Let's avoid this habit if we are to look responsible in the eyes of our bosses to be.

 2) Non pleasant photos

 It's very fine to upload our photos for our friends to see, but which type of photos and taken from where is an issue of great concern. Why would one upload a photo to Facebook while in a bar? Why would a female job seeker upload a photo while half naked? It shows and exposes to the employer, the rotten side of the job seeker! And because most employers are serious when it comes to moral issues, they definitely will not employ a morally rotten person. Hope you already know some people who have lost jobs because their nude photos leaked onto social media platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook. I will not mention them here.

 3) Derogatory language

 What you write on social media speaks a lot about you. Painting yourself as a polite and approachable individual in all one needs to do to increase their chances of getting employed. For example; most companies and organisations now days ask for the details of those applying for jobs. What should be clearly understood is that content deleted from ones wall remains in Facbook data base and can be retrieved if need arises! Now why even wait to delete? Just don't post things written in language that others will think is rude. Just be polite on social media.

 4) Negative remarks about a past/current employer or colleague

 Most of the times, workmates can annoy! Bosses too can irritate!, but let’s always learn the proper ways of handling these irritations. Going to Facebook and post, "My boss sucks" or updating your WhatsApp status as " I don't give a damn to silly workmates", will paint a certain kind of yourself negatively in public. So it's good manners to avoid blackmailing and bad mouthing on social media well knowing that no one can employ an abusive person let alone enjoying being abused or defamed

5) Reference to illegal activity

Some people go around social media bragging about how they are addicted to drug use, how they take part in violent acts and the related illegal activities. Anti-social behaviour is actually more likely to land you in prison than getting you a new job! Be fair to yourself. If drugs work for you engaging in violent acts is your hobby, keep it to yourself if you can't drop, but most employers are not willing to employ hooligans.

 6) Controversial comments

Expressing strong political views or controversial opinions can be dangerous. It’s likely that a lot of people may not agree with what you are saying and it is possible many society members will develop a dislike for you as a person. With all these possibilities, it's a profitable venture, not to engage in such contentious issues as one's reputation is endangered, and also no employer is willing to employ politicians. Keep your Facebook Wall clean.

 7) Comments and tags from other people

 We have all got that one friend who loves to tag us in awful photos or is forever posting inappropriate links on our Facebook page! If you’re at risk of them tarnishing your reputation, make sure you change your settings so that you have to approve tags and posts on your wall or ask them to stop all together. They injure your reputation and can cost you a job vacancy.

8) Posting hastily

 Posting carelessly when you’re in a hurry or getting excitable can lead to spelling and grammatical errors and poor judgement. Before posting something on social media make sure you read it through.

 9) Outing yourself

Bragging about how you leave work earlier because there is a party to attend is not a good habit. Many people try to show that they are party animals and can do anything within their means to attend them. Posting that nothing can stop you from enjoying yourself is not good because it indicates that there are possible chances of escaping from work to attend a party, something an employer may not like.

10) Not posting anything at all

 No social presence at all can sometimes be as bad as a poor as the above nine! In this day and age job seekers are expected to be in touch with the latest technology.

 As we search for jobs, we have to make sure that our presentation to people in the social media world is good or else, it can cost one a job opportunity.