Social media, one in two recruiters changes their mind due to photos and comments posted by candidates

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A photo or comment posted on a social network is never neutral. Job seekers must be increasingly aware of it because recruiters, i.e. those who select people for companies, look at them and are increasingly influenced by them. The Adecco group surveyed a sample of 500 professionals to understand their approach to social networks during the process of selecting a worker. It was found that over half, 51%, were negatively influenced after checking the candidate’s social profile. It is a continuously growing figure. The same research conducted ten years ago said that only 12% of recruiters were influenced by social profiles. In 2021 this share had already risen to close to a third (30.8%) and today it has exceeded half.

From the selectors’ answers, candidates can also draw a small handbook on how to use social media, also to benefit from it in their career path or when they have to change jobs. Certainly, the fact that over half of the selectors are negatively influenced is not a good sign of the awareness that people have of the role of social media, which companies use more consistently than in the past, especially to overcome the issue of mismatch. But let’s see what the recruiters interviewed by Adecco say. 37% say the reason they were negatively affected was because of photos they deemed inappropriate. For 27%, some personality traits visible from the published content generated a negative evaluation. For 17%, however, the negative opinion was formed when faced with explicit discriminatory manifestations of a sexual and/or racial nature in the candidates’ interactions. It is not surprising at all, in an era in which diversity and inclusion has become part of the corporate strategy and culture in companies.

Personal branding is done on social media

Lidia Molinari, people advisor director of Adecco Italia, explains that «candidates’ use of social media increasingly influences recruitment decisions. The data shows us that social screening is a decisive tool in the selection process for over half of recruiters, who use social media not only to search for talent, but also to verify candidates.” For this reason, adds Molinari, “we advise anyone looking for a job opportunity to develop a personal branding on social media that takes into account the selection of content before it is published and to pay attention to the methods of interaction online”.

The new selection paths, beyond the curriculum

In the first screening of candidates, many companies are starting to use artificial intelligence, although the algorithms in many cases need to be improved to avoid, for example, discarding candidates who for some reason have holes in their career path, as often happens to women due to motherhood and family burdens. The candidate’s CV still remains the starting point, but it no longer has the weight it once had. Once analyzed, the second step the recruiter takes is to immediately take a look at the candidate’s presence online, trying to gain further information. In 65% of cases the interest concerns professional experiences, in 47% the contents that are posted.

Linkedin the most “controlled” channel

Among the social channels most used to search for candidates, Linkedin confirms itself in first place. 96% of recruiters use it. In particular, 67% use it to collect applications, while 60% use it to search for passive candidates, i.e. those who are not actively looking for work and do not expect to receive job offers.