- Madeline Mann, a career coach, advises job seekers to be careful about what they post online.
- Mann said job recruiters will check a candidate’s LinkedIn and other social media platforms.
- She said sharing about your current job search journey on LinkedIn could backfire.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Madeline Mann, a 32-year-old career coach and CEO of Self Made Millennial from Los Angeles. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I’ve been a career coach for about six years. As the CEO of Self Made Millennial, my career coaching service, I want people to feel confident in selling themselves and ultimately land the job offer.
When it comes to job hunting, I tell my clients that recruiters will definitely check their LinkedIn profile — but they might not stop there. It’s very likely they’ll search for candidates on other social media platforms too.
For that reason, when looking for work, there are several things you shouldn’t share online. Here are four of them.
1. Don’t share your job search journey
When you’re job searching, I’d heavily advise against documenting your journey. There has been a surge of people on LinkedIn, sharing what it’s like to apply for jobs in today’s market.
They say things like, “Oh, I just went through this company’s interview process, and I didn’t get the job,” or, “Look how silly this job application is — and here’s how I feel about it.”
While it might get you some good engagement, understand employers are watching, too. As a job seeker, you don’t want them to think, “Oh no, if we put this person through our interview process, what are they going to publicly say about our company?”
Although the job search journey can be pretty isolating, and it can feel good to talk about it, you really want to be cautious here.
2. Mental health
Similarly, I would advise against sharing your mental health journey online. This is something that has become a much more mainstream conversation and for such good reason.
But understand, it’s something that an employer could make snap judgments on. Those hiring might question your ability to do the role, and you might not know it — as they won’t tell you that.
Sharing things about depression, or anxiety, might make an employer wonder, “How is that going to impact our business?” and “Are they going to be capable of this job?”
Even if you’re being uplifting and reflective, it’s very risky. Instead, I’d try to keep this more to your inner circle, where you can control who has access to knowing.
3. Don’t share your résumé online
On LinkedIn, there’s an option to share your résumé — and I wouldn’t recommend doing that.
If you share the same résumé everywhere online, you’re missing the chance to tailor it to what that company is looking for. This is especially important if you have diverse interests in different roles; that one résumé could send the wrong message.
Instead, I suggest only sharing your résumé with the company you’re applying to, rather than making it public on your website or LinkedIn profile.
4. Consider not sharing political campaigns
If you’ve worked on a political campaign, it’s important to consider whether you should actually include it on your LinkedIn profile.
Yes, you likely gained valuable experience, but before posting it, think about the cities you want to work in, the role you’re applying for, and the jobs you’d like to pursue.
Many people struggle to separate their beliefs and may make assumptions based on who they think you voted for. These differences can cloud someone’s judgment, and when you’re applying for jobs, you don’t want that to happen.
Even if they shouldn’t, small biases can make a big impact. In the end, you don’t want to give people the ability to quickly judge you before they get to know you.
Protecting your accounts
When applying for jobs, go to Google, type in your name, and see what comes up. A recruiter will usually start there. They might see your LinkedIn profile, but they could also come across your X and Instagram accounts, too. If those platforms appear, they’ll likely click on those links.
To protect yourself from that happening — you can do a few things. First, you can put your social media accounts on private, which isn’t necessarily foolproof, but a start, or you can set your social media accounts to include just your first and middle name, so your last name doesn’t appear.
You can also slightly misspell your last name. For example, I saw someone whose last name starts with “W,” but he used two “V”s instead. That way, if someone searched his last name, it wouldn’t show up.
But just as a general rule, know that if someone does get through your privacy settings, there are ways to see what you’ve liked and who you follow.
Before posting, ask yourself is this the right way to portray myself? Should I just send this in a group text to my friends instead? Really consider those things before posting.
If you’re a career coach who would like to share helpful job searching tips, please email Manseen Logan at mlogan@businessinsider.com.
