6 to 20% employers look up your social networking page

If you're like most people, your social media page is just filled with pictures of your friends, family members, pets and other random things you've captured on camera. However, many employers are now choosing to also look at a job candidate's profile pages on Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram to get a better idea of what kind of person they would be working with. Enter the big question: Does my social media profile affect my ability to get hired or promoted?

There are many different variables that go into whether or not you will be able to get hired. Your education level, previous job experience, salary requirements, location and other factors play a big part in your ability to be hired. If you have a good educational background and a lot of work experience under your belt, you will probably have an easier time getting promoted than someone who only has a high school diploma. However, if you don't have any real-world experience and aren't very highly educated, then it may be a little harder for you to jump the corporate ranks until you can prove that you can do the job well enough to promote yourself.

When you are applying for a job or being considered for a promotion, it is far more common that employers will not even look at your social media profiles. This can be due to many factors including:

1) Not having an account.

2) Not having anything on the profile that might reflect negatively upon the company.

3) Feeling more comfortable with asking you about the social media habits rather than digging around in your personal life.

However, if employers do look at social media accounts, make sure you are prepared for it. Go through your Facebook page and see if there are any pictures or posts that might cause you to lose out on the job or promotion. If you have a friend or family member who is constantly bad-mouthing their job, boss, clients and co-workers on your wall or in your messages, then it might be wise to take them off of your friends list. It's also a good idea for you to realize that people can view your profile even if you block them – so don't say anything to anyone online that you wouldn't say to someone at work. If the employer does have a concern about your social media habits, don't panic and delete all of your pages. In some cases, this can be used as a proof that you are being honest with the company, but more often it will just create another story to tell at work. The best way to handle this is to just go through and make sure that there's nothing out there that could potentially reflect negatively on the job or you personally.

At the end of the day, if you do not have a social media account that shows off your life or job in some way, then it makes sense for employers to take a pass on seeing it. However, if you're looking for a job or are in the process of being interviewed for a promotion and you have an account, then it's best to be prepared for anything. If the worst does happen and your social media page is the reason that you are not getting the job or promotion, it's still not a good idea to go into full panic mode and delete all of your profiles. Instead, take the time to review your profile and make sure that your picture doesn't have you holding an alcoholic beverage or showing off a tattoo that you wouldn't want shown up near your work place. Maybe in some cases it may even help to show off some skills that could potentially help get you hired. If you have a hobby that is related to the job, such as photography, a blog or even Poker, then you can try putting samples of your work on your page. Just remember that anything you post on social media will be permanent so keep that in mind before posting or deciding to delete any pages.

What to do if you know it's a sloppy mess of photos and videos of your drunken escapades, foul language and opinions on hot-button issues is up to you.

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2010/09/12/2010-09-12_know_youre_being_scrutinized_so.html

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-03-04/news/fl-marketer-employment-20130304_1_personable-employers

http://www.washingtonpost. com/business/economy/social-media-use-in-job-hunting-hits-new-high/2013/12/02/a78d5d8e-6b20-11e2–8758–d58e76def45a_story.html

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/using-social-media–1467141

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2013/04/03/technologyangellistfacebooktwitterlinkedin/#2895f5729b6c

http://www.socialmediatoday .com/story/6-20-employers-look-up-your-social-networking-page/176932/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2013/04/04/what-to-doifyourefiredthankstosocialmedia/#2b59e1ca8ef2

http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2010/09/12/2010–09–12_know_youre_being_scrutinized_so.html?page=1

http://www.washingtonpost

Conclusion: It's an effective way to ensure that your messages are direct and meaningful. Be a good judge of your message and don't forget the relationship you have with your customers.

http://www.whypanyonefollowsus .com/blog/social-media-profile-answers-basics

https://www.creativityonline .com/podcasts/175-how-to-use-your-social-media

https://www.buzzfeed .com/tomprincebrowniejackson/5reasonswhyyoufollowsomeone#.dvAKiWYcBm

http://www.businessinsider ...