Social media is a hit these days. Most of the world population is on one or the other social media. It is not just individuals who are on social media but many companies and recruiting agencies have their own social media account.
Facebook, Google +, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media sites help you in many ways definitely. There are many advantages of using social media for job search, no doubt but at the same time, there are also some disadvantages to it. So, tread with great care.
Here are some disadvantages of using social media for job search to take note of so that you can avoid some mistakes and get that dream job:
Disadvantages of using Social Media:
1. Social media gives out an impression:
On sites like Facebook, which is a tool to reach out to friends, online and offline, you are at your informal best. You post your funny and party pictures or a stupid online friend might post a vulgar or offensive post on your wall.
All these send out an impression of yours, as a party animal, or a racist or a womaniser and so on, which in reality, you may not be, but such an account can be detrimental in landing your dream job.
In fact, a survey conducted by the portal CareerBuilder in 2014, found that many candidates were passed on by recruiters because employers found their social media profiles to be unsuitable, around 51 percent of employers thought so.
2. You will have to create a serious social media account:
What is the use of sites like Facebook and Twitter when you can’t be yourself? If you are using these sites for your job search, then you will have to be serious and only have friends those are sensible.
Yet, how can you prevent people from sharing their updates? You will have to be conscious and even your tweets have to be what others want to read. Then what is the fun in being on these sites in the first place?
3. You can’t be your normal self:
You may have strong views on many topics, be it homophobia, racism, nepotism, politics and so on. But when you are using social media as tools for generating employment, you won’t be able to be you and you will have to be very careful in posting or reacting because your prospective employers may find it offending or unnecessary. That means you will have to restrain yourself, which really is a disadvantage.
4. Social media is an open platform:
Another disadvantage of social media is that it is an open platform. So when you apply for jobs, it is there for everyone to see. Thus, it can happen that employers get to see where all places you have applied and it may send an impression that, ‘oh, this guy has applied at so many places, so he might not take up our offer’ and you may lose out on good opportunities.
5. Rival rides:
Even on a professional account like LinkedIn, it is possible to see who your contacts are. It can happen that you have an executive from a rival company of a firm you have applied for, as your connection. This too can send a wrong signal and dent your chances.
6. Holding on to your current job can be difficult:
That is if you are going to try for another job while having one right now, using social media, then your current employer can easily find when you are applying for jobs through social media.
That means, you are in real danger, you can lose your current job and you may not even get a new one that easily, even if it is through social media. So, be careful.
7. Not all employers use social media:
This is another disadvantage. Through social media, you may be able to reach only those employers who use social media accounts for recruitment. That means, even if you use social media for your job search, you will also have to use traditional means for job search. That means double the efforts.
8. You can’t be unique all the time:
Since there are scores of candidates out there trying out their luck through social media trying out for a job, you will be just one of them.
It is very difficult to stand out and that can be a hindering factor. It can be quite challenging as you will have to think of innovative ways to stand out, some of which can even backfire too.
9. You will have to invest lot of time:
If you are keen on searching for jobs using social media, then be ready to invest a good amount of time. At the same time, you also have to be committed to it. You will never know when you are getting replies or queries, so you have to be on it almost all the time. It can be quite distracting too.
10. Connectivity is the key:
When you depend on social media for searching jobs, you have to ensure that you are connected all the time to internet, be it on your phone or computer. If there is an error in connection or your phone is not working for a certain period of time, you will lose out on important posts and replies. That definitely is a disadvantage.
11. Discrepancies can be harmful:
If you have your profile on different social media sites, you have to be extra careful. Any inconsistencies can work against you and present you as a dishonest candidate. So, make sure that your details are the same in all the accounts.
12. Blogs now have to be written from other’s perspective:
If you are an avid blogger and you have blogged on multiple subjects, if you are presenting it to your employers, then beware. You have to be choosier and extra careful.
You can no longer blog on what you like but you have to keep your job search in mind and send out blogs accordingly. Or you will have to maintain two blogs, one to be seen by employers and other discreet.
13. Limitations of social media do not help much:
On one side, social media are great in many ways but on the other side, they have their own limitations. Twitter allows only short sentences, which can come in the way of expressing oneself for jobs.
Facebook is more of a social site and it has many privacy settings which can prevent you from reaching many employees and vice versa. LinkedIn works only domestically.
14. Incomplete profiles work against you:
The hazard of maintaining multiple social media accounts is that you may at times forget about completing the details. This sends a wrong impression that you are being careless and that you do not tend to finish what you have started.
15. Password dilemma:
Multiple accounts mean you will have to remember so many passwords. And if you forget even one of them, and you are not able to recover the password, you may lose a good amount of data and useful information. All your contacts may vanish in no time. That is also a disadvantage that you have to pay attention to.
16. So many accounts to manage and so little time:
There is always this pressure of being on all social media accounts and it is not easy updating and checking all of them all the time. As many accounts, as many networks. It is really exhausting to be in touch, to reply and to manage all these accounts. One can get quite tired and bored of social media in no time.
17. Too much info and too much confusion:
Unlike in a job search portal, in social media, you tend to get hundreds of job posts and information, based on your key word and many of these will be not of much use to you. So, it becomes quite frustrating to pick out the things that you need and so on. This can lead to a disinterest sooner.
18. Even small things get noted:
Even small mistakes and grammatical errors will be noted on social media, even if you have written them casually. Your preferences or even the posts that you like can be misinterpreted.
For example, if you have liked posts about jokes on gender bias or women, just because you could laugh at them, that will be seen you as being disrespectful towards women, even if you are not. Hence you will have to be extra careful if you wish to use social media to help you in job search.
19. Hackers and scams:
You may fall prey to a hacker or a scam during your job search. Since, these days, hacking and scams are just happening on a regular basis, you too can be a victim. Many people use phones for checking and updating their social media, and many of them don’t even sign out after using.
If the phone gets stolen or somebody else gets to access it, you are in real danger. Then there are many job scams out there and seemingly potential employers can cheat you and get all your information and you can be duped. One has to be very careful on social media sites.
20. Finally, these sites can hamper your productivity:
Since you will be spending much time on the social media sites checking about jobs, applying and replying, you are spending much time which can hinder your productivity. And at the same, it can also hamper your work-life balance. One can be an addict always replying and checking messages, which can really mess your life and profession, unless you tend to choose a disciplined way of doing it.
To Wrap Up:
Every medium has its own pros and cons and even social media comes with its own disadvantages. On one side, these platforms can give you great visibility and help you network, a simple mistake and overlook can even ruin your chances of getting a job.
Hence, before you choose to click that ‘Send’ button, pause and recheck and think. The above points can help you tide over the disadvantages and try to make these media work for you.
