Recruiters warn City job hunters over old social media posts
That embarrassing tweet you did and forgot all about five years ago could cost you a top job in the City, recruiters are now warning.
Old social media posts could come back to haunt those that made them, with many financial employers starting to scrutinise Twitter and Facebook accounts as part of their jobs-vetting process.
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Graduates hoping to land a job at banks, law firms and insurers are being told to trawl back through their old posts and photos to delete anything that could raise eyebrows among corporate firms focused on their reputation.
“When people are applying, most institutions are looking at the social footprint to make sure there’s nothing that could potentially harm the image or the brand of the institution,” said Robert Walters, a recruitment industry veteran.
Walters, who is chief executive of listed recruitment giant Robert Walters, told City PM: “It’s a big consideration for lots of the major banks…HR teams often now do it as part of any process.”
Hakan Enver, managing director of London-based recruiter Morgan McKinley, added: “We’ve known of organisations rescinding contracts from candidates who have had politically orientated pictures in their social media profiles”.
Enver added: “Nowadays you’ve got many more channels like Instagram, so one does have to be very careful with certain institutions whose reputation is held in high regard and don’t want to associate themselves with people who go against certain values.”
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