Employers say to bring your “whole, authentic self” to work, but are they truly ready for us? Everything about us?
We may or may not feel pressure to code-switch at work, but when the clock strikes 5, we step into ourselves. And my authentic self lives a culturally Black life – free from the expectations of “professionalism,” a concept based on eurocentric ideals.
According to a 2018 survey by CareerBuilder, even your next employer can be lurking on your profile. In fact, 70% of employers said they research candidates by reviewing what they post on their social media accounts.
That’s not all: 57% of companies said they have passed on a candidate because of their social media, with 40% of that group claiming the candidate posted something inappropriate or provocative.
This data provokes critical questions around the judgment of Black culture by our non-Black counterparts. Is playing Mas at Carnival “provocative”? How about reposts of various gems from Black Twitter, sharing social commentary of our Black shows, music, and artists?
While I don’t believe employers or potential employers should base their decisions on the personal lives of their candidates, the uncomfortable truth is that what you post publicly creates an opportunity for others to form opinions about you.
The good news is that you have the power to enforce boundaries over the type of access people have to you. There are different levels of privacy settings, and depending on your priorities or goals, you may choose one over another. Let’s explore the different levels of access and how to protect your peace and privacy at work.
OPTION 1: NO ACCESS
If privacy is your biggest concern, the best way to keep unwanted eyes off what you do in your personal time is to go completely private.
I ran a recent LinkedIn post asking, “Do you allow your colleagues to follow you on social media?” Out of 955 responses, 46% said they would not allow their colleagues to follow them, while 34% said it depends on the circumstance or their relationship with their coworkers.
While you cannot control whether or not others choose to look you up – with a tap of a few buttons, you can enforce boundaries with who you allow to follow you on social media or make it substantially harder for them to find and access your profile. To keep employers from viewing your personal social media account, you can disable searchability features or use a different email from your professional name.
There is one exception you might want to make, and this is for your Linkedin profile. I implore you to set your profile to public on LinkedIn for recruiters and hiring managers to access your profile. Do know that it is simple for someone to view your activity on LinkedIn (including what you like, what you comment on, etc.) so keep that in mind as you engage on that platform.
Now, what happens if having a social presence can be beneficial to your career?
OPTION 2: SOME ACCESS
In some industries, a public social presence can benefit one’s earning potential or land them additional opportunities. If this is the case for you, a strategy could be to manage two pages: one page to publicly display your work or content you’re comfortable showcasing to potential colleagues, employers, or clients, and a separate, private page for your close circle.
Tameka Bazile, a social strategist, follows this method: “I include my social links in the applications and mention during the interview that I am a content creator or influencer; why shouldn’t that be an achievement a potential employer recognizes? I think it’s fair if it’s left up to the candidate to include their accounts in their portfolio or application or not.”
But what if making any of your profiles private just doesn’t feel authentic to you?
OPTION 3: FULL ACCESS
If you choose to keep a public profile, I’d suggest scrubbing your social media profile of posts that you don’t feel comfortable with your current or future employers seeing. You can also begin to utilize a more gated feature, like Instagram’s close friends feature, for more personal content.
Most importantly, know your rights to protect yourself from wrongful termination from your job. While the 1st amendment protects your right to freedom of speech from the government, know that it does not apply to private employers. Every state has different employment laws and protections around social media privacy, so I encourage you to research your state!