4 Social Media Mistakes That Will Cost You That Job

By Selipha Kihagi

You must love the thrill of being on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and any other Social Media platform you have managed to sign up for. Connecting with friends is even more appealing and to make this better, you have accepted all friend requests – after all, the more the merrier.

The Kenyan job scene isn’t pretty, employers receive large amounts of applications and will turn to Social media  for decisions on who to hire and even who to fire.

Have you taken this into consideration or do you still choose to be ignorant and remain jobless?

Social Media Mistakes Bound To Cost You The Job

1. Accepting friend requests blindly

If you are the type of social media user that will accept all friend requests because you don’t want to be rude or they are too many to go through, then your boss, your future boss or that co-worker that really hates you is in your contact list. They see all your posts, comments and what people share with you. This will not work in your favour.

2. Sharing posts because the photo/video made you laugh

Being on social media means you have access to all kinds of material and while you may think you are being careful, the internet works against you. You might share a post containing vile content but because you are too quick to invite your followers to laugh with you, you won’t notice. Just laugh and move on, you don’t have to share!

3. Filling your timeline with your own photos

Your friends & followers do not need to see the same photo in 10 different poses or keep tabs with your ‘forever & for always’ relationship, try learn the art of sharing only what is safe. Instead of 10 photos, pick one or two that communicate. Don’t let your future boss think you are indecisive or are too idle, and even worse, obsessed with yourself.

4. Posting exactly what is on your mind

Just because Facebook wants you to share ‘What’s on your mind’ and Twitter wants to know ‘What’s happening’ does not mean you share your hatred for your boss or tell everyone how bad your day was. It also does not mean you post in wrong grammar because 140 characters on Twitter are too few to express your emotions. You must be selective when posting, if you want a job or need to keep one.

Don’t rely on privacy settings, search yourself on Google or Bing to see what information can be found about you. Remember, the internet does not forget.