89.
Get Your Ducks in a Row
As an employer, I have a right—indeed, a responsibility—to research everyone I might consider hiring for a job. I am looking for problems—the things that might eliminate the candidate. So you'd better believe I check each candidate's LinkedIn profile and Facebook page. I also search for them on Google, talk to their references, and talk to anyone in my network who may know—or knows someone who may know—the candidate. I'm looking to find the dirt, if there is any. This is standard operating procedure for all employers now. Your online presence and your reputation in your industry—that is, what people who know and have worked with you say about you—weigh very heavily in any employer's decision to hire you (or not).
On LinkedIn, I want to see that you're literate. (Presumably your résumé shows that you are, or you never would have gotten this far in the hiring process with me.) What have you chosen to highlight in your profile? A LinkedIn page is a business document. As such, it needs to be an impeccable representation of who you are.
Facebook is where the problems usually lie. For some reason, people think Facebook is the “anti-LinkedIn”—the place where they can let their hair down and have fun, like the bar they frequent at the end of the workweek. Well, guess what? I'm hiding in the “bar” and watching everything you do. Facebook is a public place. Don't you think I'd protect my own interests and see what you're doing there? You may have thought that photo you posted of you getting hammered with your college friends was cute and fun back then. Today, it's a turnoff to an employer. The same goes for any status updates you may have posted and comments you may have made.
Remember, in the working world, the employer almost always has the advantage. That is, there is often just one job, but many candidates. If you give me reason to believe that your past behaviors are not “past” and/or you were careless enough to post something potentially embarrassing, I will be moving on to another, less risky candidate. You—and everything that ever represents you—need to be thoroughly professional at all times. By the way, this includes your credit score and history. If you are having financial problems, I want no part of them. So clean them up and scrub your online presence before we meet. You're supposed to be offering me solutions to the problems I'm having, not giving me more problems to deal with!