5 Ways Your Social Media Profiles Can Cost You A Job

People often forget that everything on the Internet stays there forever, even once it’s deleted. Nothing is as private as we’re lead to believe, and screenshots can be our worst enemy. Sometimes, social media mishaps can keep people from getting a job. Social media posts can even get people fired! Today’s young people have grown up with an online presence but with it comes responsibilities, which is why I have previously written Is my child ready for a social media account?

There have been many examples where Tweets have come back to haunt people years later and lose them contracts or portray them negatively. In order to avoid this happening, you need to understand the 5 Ways Your Social Media Profiles Can Cost You A Job

Are you safe from rejection based on your online presence? Keep your profiles clean by following this advice for what not to do.

5 Ways Your Social Media Profiles Can Cost You A Job

1. References to Illegal Drugs

Marijuana is popular in the UK and many teenagers regularly smoke weed. However, it is still illegal and you can get in trouble for using it. Avoid posting anything related to marijuana, including photos and videos of you smoking, memes related to smoking weed, photos of paraphernalia, and images of cannabis leaves. Even if you’re prescribed medical marijuana, keep it off the Internet. Your employer has no way of knowing if yours is prescribed. It should go without saying, but leave references to stronger drugs like cocaine, opiates, and hallucinogens off the Internet. You might be able to pass a drug test, but if an employer sees references to drugs on your profiles, you won’t even make it that far in the application process.

If you are under the legal drinking age in your country, don’t post any videos pictures of alcohol, whether or not you’re in the photos. It’s best to keep any pictures of cups and beverages out of photos, since employers have no way of knowing what’s in the cup.

2. Bashing Current and Former Employers

It’s one thing to leave anonymous feedback on an employer on Glassdoor, but don’t complain about past or future employers on social media. Employers don’t want to hire someone who will speak ill of their company. A post about how much you hate your job while you’re on the job can get you fired. This girl got fired on her first day of work before she even came in because she Tweeted about being annoyed that she had to work. We all know work isn’t exciting, but companies have reputations to maintain. Your posts about being miserable at work threaten their reputation, and your posts about past employers only show your future employers that they’re next to be roasted.

3. Posting Controversial Political Views

The UK is a country that celebrates free speech, but freedom of speech does not equal freedom from consequences. This means you can still get fired for posting something that goes against your company’s core values. Steer clear of posting about politics on social media in general, but be particularly careful to avoid posting about hot topic issues like immigration, the LGBTQ+ community, and racial relations. Opinions on these issues can be seen as discriminatory and would be grounds for termination from your job. Posting about gun control, abortion access, and financial issues aren’t going to get you in as much trouble, but steer clear from discussing them if your company takes a certain stance on them.

4. Using Politically Incorrect Terminology

You know most of the words you shouldn’t say in public or on the Internet – the R-word, the N-word, and other well-known derogatory terms (like the one that rhymes with “maggot”) are obviously off limits. This language can get you fired on the basis of discrimination, or it can keep you from landing a job in the first place. A Parkland school shooting survivor just had his Harvard acceptance revoked for using derogatory language online two years ago (remember, the Internet is forever).

Be careful not to use derogatory that are less commonly understood as offensive, such as “gypsy” and “tranny.” In case this is your first time hearing that these terms are slurs, the word “gypsy” is considered offensive to Romani people because it’s associated with stereotypes about them. The word “tranny” is politically incorrect because it’s seen as an insult. The correct term is “transgender person” or simply “trans person.”

5. Posting Evidence of Faking Sick

It’s happened to all of us – exciting last-minute plans come up, and we call out of work. We tell our bosses we’re throwing up or that we have a fever. Nowadays, many people are friends with their co-workers on social media, or their co-workers and bosses are following them without their knowledge. Posting pictures of the fun time you had when you should have been bedridden showcases your dishonesty, and can get you terminated. Post the evidence of your adventure on social media a few weeks later to prevent people from questioning where you were.

With social media being so easy to use and abuse, make sure your posts aren’t putting your job in jeopardy! No matter where you work, you need to be careful about what you post.

These 5 Ways Your Social Media Profiles Can Cost You A Job needs to be taken seriously or else you could find yourself in a sticky situation when you least expect it!

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