Social Media Savvy

“Social media is no longer cutting-edge; it is mainstream. For HR to overlook it today would be like ignoring e-mail 20 years ago.”

This quote from Jonathan A. Segal, contributing editor of HR Magazine, explains how social media is another tool in the game of hiring.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, millennials will account for 75% of the global workforce by 2025. This generation has grown up with a variety of social media sites and technology that will be even more prevalent and important for communication in the workplace in decades to come. Thus, presence on social media is an important element of one’s identity in the 21st century.

While one’s presence on social media can be an incredible facet to a potential employer, there is no doubt that it can make or break a candidate’s application. Legally, any company or potential employer can review a candidate’s public social media platform. As a newly paid partner for Vote America, I made my Instagram a public business account in order to best promote Vote America’s commitment to widespread registration this 2020 election. In my opinion, this was not a big deal. I’ve always committed myself to use my public social media accounts responsibly to display my interests in art, moments in my daily life, and now, my voice as a first time voter.

One example of the judgement that can be found on social media is in the case of Something Navy founder Arielle Charnas. Charnas faced public scrutiny back in April for being tested for COVID-19 after initially saying she didn’t meet the criteria in New York State for testing. She then dismissed COVID-19 policies and left to quarantine in her home in the Hamptons, leading to a surge of threats and anger on her social media page. We can see here how fast communication travels on social media, and how fans can disapprove if poor choices are made. Charnas opened up about her personal life, but as her following surged, she became vulnerable to the consequences of this public platform.

This publicity not only affected Charnas’ relationships with her followers, but also her partnerships. Many followers angrily tweeted at Nordstrom, one of Charnas’ brand partnerships, about her entitlement and privilege to access coronavirus testing. In response, Nordstrom publicly declared, “Our partnership with Arielle Charnas ended in 2019, and we have no foreseeable collaborations.” In Charnas’ case, social media platforms can impact future partnerships and collaborations, as well as taint one’s reputation and influence current jobs.

While I’ve seen my fair share of how social media can show the worst in people, such as through racist posts or hateful comments, social media is an incredible asset if one can post responsibly. Most recently, social media has created new jobs through paid partnerships and influencer positions. Some of the most successful influencers, such as Danielle Bernstein and Xenia Adonts, to name a few, have created powerful platforms with millions of followers who are interested in their favorite products and daily lives. For these influencers, social media presence and aesthetics make or break their partnerships with different companies. Social media ultimately helped them build powerful businesses.

In a more typical employment scenario, accessing a candidate’s public social media account is fairly reasonable in order to see how a candidate conducts him or herself both inside and outside a professional work setting. We should all remember how important social media is to Gen Z and millennials as a way that employers are legally allowed to judge us. And with that I say: be smart, be safe, and be savvy.

By Margaret Rand

Wake Forest Student, New Yorker and art lover.