By Graciela Becerra
Reporting Correspondent
gbecerr1@jccc.edu
Social media has become a part of nearly everyone’s day-to-day lives. While most people use it to stay in touch with friends and family, a smaller pool of people will venture off into the profiles of those whom they’ve yet to meet, and amongst this pool of people are potential employers.
Many employers, including those at the college, are using social media to get to know their applicants before the first interview.
“The college uses it to look for student employees to get a better idea of what they’re like before [they] meet them,” said Erin Elmore, admissions recruiter at the college. “It’s kind of hard to base your opinion of people off of social media, but I feel like it’s a good way to gauge what the person is like.”
Although this is becoming a common practice among employers, most applicants don’t realize their social media accounts can be used in this way, and because of this, they fail to construct a presentable online profile and often miss out on a job opportunity.
Student Admissions Ambassador Kendra Wendte said “I understand how it could affect [the odds of getting a job]. If [employers] see something alarming, [they] might not want them in the workplace.”
More often than not, the things posted on social media are intended to be taken lightly, but with a job or potential career at stake, it may be worth it to be more cautious.
“I think you have to be conscious of the things you’re posting about yourself, because sometimes that is the only impression people have of you before they meet you,” said Elmore.
With a few adjustments, social media can be used as a tool to help students secure a job or benefit them in their job searches.
“I think people should … only post things that they feel portray them in the best way,” said Elmore. “Portraying the best image of yourself on social media can only help you and not harm you.”
Since most students are still learning how to use social media appropriately, getting a head start and cleaning up their profiles could give them a leg up on the competition.
If it came down to two candidates, both with wonderful interviews, but one of them with a bad profile, the individual without an inappropriate profile would get the job before the other, said Elmore.
Student Admissions Ambassador Lexi Starr wasn’t against social media affecting someone’s job opportunity.
“I think it’s a great idea because … people don’t portray themselves like they should on social media,” said Starr. “And if they knew that they couldn’t get an incredible job because of the way they act on social media, I feel like that could be the stop to a lot of things, like cyber bullying.”
Starr expressed how powerful she thought the idea could be.
“It can stop so many things that are wrong with social media today if people just reflected on how much it would affect them in the long run,” said Starr.
She shared her advice for students looking for jobs on campus next semester.
“Be cautious, especially with pictures … because even though you may not be doing whatever is in the picture, it can still affect you. You’re kind of guilty by association when it comes to pictures,” she said.
Something else to keep in mind is that privacy settings are adjustable. Students can decide whether they want their account to be entirely viewable, partially viewable or entirely private by someone who is not their friend on social media.
“I feel like your social media is your personal space and it shouldn’t be invaded by people who aren’t in your circle,” said Elmore. “Most of the time, you friend people that you’re okay with seeing your things, but I feel like if you’re going to post a lot of inappropriate things, then it’s kind of your own fault.”
Although some employers might be kind enough to give students the benefit of the doubt, it’s better to be safe than sorry and get in the habit of acting appropriately on social media.