5 Social Media Mistakes To Avoid In Your Jobsearch

The vast majority of us in the UK have some form of social media account these days. From Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to WhatsApp. Instagram and SnapChat, social media has transformed our lives and allowed us to connect with people in many different ways. But just as many positive things have come from social media, it can lead to some negative things too. The fact is, when you apply for a job, many companies will check your social media profiles. This can lead to you not being offered roles for a variety of reasons. We take a look at five social media mistakes you should avoid to ensure that it doesn’t hold back your job search.

Compromising Pictures

Yes, you are completely entitled to do what you like out of work, but if it is something that could being your employer into disrepute then if they see evidence of it they’re not going to want to employ you. If your social media accounts are full of pictures of you being drunk, being nude or doing activities that may considered to be illegal then this will almost certainly give your prospective employer the wrong impression.

 Being Over Opinionated

Being opinionated is mostly seen as a positive when looking for your next role in the fashion industry. Fashion is a very subjective industry so being able to form and argue an opinion is a great skill to have. However, companies can be put off candidates who seem over opinionated over social media. Continually sharing politically charged posts or partaking in countless internet arguments are likely to see you passed over as a candidate. It has nothing to do with your opinions, it’s to do with trying to build a harmonious team and people who are overtly opinionated can be contrary to this.

Being Discriminatory (Or Appearing To Be)

Equality and diversity are essentials of any modern day business so if you display any behavior online that could be classed as discriminatory then it’s going to severely hamper your chances of getting an interview for prospective fashion industry roles. Even if you are being ironic and all of your friends ‘get it’ that you are being ironic, that may not be the case for an outsider looking at your profile who doesn’t know you.

 Inviting Your Interviewers To Connect

Surprisingly this happens a lot more than you may think. Some people do it as soon as their interview ends and amazingly some do it BEFORE their interview. Your interviewers may very be friendly but this is to put you at ease, not because they want to be your friends on social media. Doing such a thing will come across as a big negative with your interviewer as you will have crossed what is known as an unwritten boundary.

Being Negative About Your Previous Boss Or Job

You may have had the worst boss in the world at your previous job or the role itself may have been an absolute nightmare. Even so, you should be overtly critical of your former job or boss on social media as it is seen as very unprofessional. You may very well be right in the allegations that you make on social media but it is much better to retain a dignified silence if your social media settings are set to public.

 The best advice we can give is if you are in any doubt about how your social media profiles portray you as a candidate then set them to private. Lots of people keep their profiles private and it won’t be seen "