My Social Media Shadow: Job Hunting With Big Opinions
By: Jessica O'Keefe
Tags: Social Media, Toxic Workplace, Job Hunting, Women In Business, Toxic Work Culture

Don’t post about potentially divisive topics like religion: Woops.

Don’t get into arguments over politics: Umm.

Don’t swear: Well, shit.

Don’t reveal personal information: Side-eyes article I just wrote on Medium about my ADHD.

Definitely don’t post pictures of your adorable stepson at his first anti-gun violence rally: That was oddly specific!

Photo by Vlad Tchompalov on Unsplash

A few months before graduating college, I did a major cleanup of my social media accounts. I was actively searching for a job, a fruitless endeavor for a recent graduate in 2012, but I was naive and hopeful. Away went the finals-related rants that commonly featured colorful four-letter words. Bye-bye to the cringe-inducing sorority photos from questionably-themed parties. Adios to the less-than-subtle attempts at passive aggression towards ex-boyfriends. My Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were squeaky clean and office-ready.

After almost a decade, a smattering of jobs, and an unfortunate national election later, my social media has dirtied up a bit. I use my Twitter to vent and connect with those that I feel I align with politically. I utilize my Facebook as a virtual soap box. My Instagram is…surprisingly tame and full of cats.

Towards the beginning of my professional career, if I was job hunting, I’d go on social media lockdown. My Twitter would be set to private, I’d alter my Facebook settings, and I might even go dark on Insta. I didn’t want employers getting the impression that I was too emotional, had a major potty mouth, or that I couldn’t keep contentious opinions to myself.

My experience with a toxic work environment completely changed my tune in regards to the person others perceive me to be on social media. It’s not that I don’t care what potential employers think of me, I certainly do! I simply don’t care to put on a show or be someone I’m not in order to get a job.

In 2016, I landed a job at a small law firm. The young attorney that interviewed me seemed nice enough and he assured me that I’d get plenty of one-on-one time to learn the tricks of the paralegal trade. A few weeks into my employment, I realized I was in trouble. A tenant that shared the building remarked how lucky I was that I was able to wear pants instead of a skirt, a rule that had only been implemented within the last decade. The one-on-one time I had been promised never came. Any questions I asked were met with hostility. Requests for help went unanswered.

I did my best to keep my head down and teach myself what I could. I relished the moments I could get out of the building and run across the street to drop documents off at the Prothonotary’s office. I had more pleasant interactions with alleged criminals at the Sheriff’s station than I did the legal secretary who never failed to give me disapproving looks any time I had the audacity to show up in a pair of pants.

In November, the national election yielded some less-than-stellar results. Showing up for work the next day was in and of itself a chore. The owner of the law firm was ecstatic. All day, as I held back tears, my boss was on the phone bursting with excitement over the potential opportunity of a Trump presidency. I was miserable, but resolute. I promised myself, the next time a professional opportunity arose, my employer would know more about me than the short bursts of information found on my resume, and I’d sure as hell know more about my employer.

I’d like to take a moment to say that I fully recognize some job seekers don’t have the luxury of being themselves on social media. I’ve heard plenty of cautionary tales, particularly from those in the education field. Aggressive helicopter parents forcing teachers they didn’t like out of a job by showing up to the principal’s office, yielding a photo of said teacher holding a glass of wine at a wedding. The nerve of people having a life outside of the classroom!

I do believe that some boundaries should be set. If you’re posting memes or long-winded statuses that are truly antithetical to a company’s mission, for example, you’re probably not well suited for the job. All that being said, workers aren’t robots. We can’t be expected to act inauthentically for 8+ hours a day.

A recent study from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) claims that nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars was spent on workplace turnover due to toxic work environments in the past five years alone. Perhaps it’s not job seekers with sassy Facebook statuses that are the problem. Maybe, it’s workplaces that don’t practice the company missions they preach in tiny, italicized writing at the bottom of their home page. Workplace culture needs to change, not us.

If, upon first glance, my social media doesn’t reflect an individual that would fit into your company culture, that’s okay! We’ve both saved some time. I have big opinions, none of which prevent me from being a professional or trustworthy employee. The content that makes up my social media presence is a direct reflection of who I am. Ultimately, I want to work for a company who will hire me because of my social media presence, not in spite of it.