Earlier in the month I shared a tale of how a student secured a placement off the back of impressing an employer with a single tweet. This week, it probably hasn't escaped your notice that there has been two students in court facing criminal proceedings as a result of their twitter usage.
Newcastle University law student sends racist tweets to broadcaster
Swansea University student post racially offensive comments
Both of these students have probably caused irreparable damage to their career prospects. Criminal records for offenses like these are not going to endear them to recruiters, and the law student can kiss goodbye any aspirations he may still have for a legal career.
While both cases present extreme examples of what not to do on Twitter, it is not just airing vile racist comments that can hamper a job search. As Aimee Bateman says on her fantastic CareerCake.tv website, more and more employers will research candidates by studying their social media profile.
(Regrettably the original video clip has been removed by the owner - but it was blimming good!)
For more great careers advice from Aimee, log onto CareerCake.tv
So next time you want to let off steam about one of your colleagues, rant about an interviewer or moan about an employer who has not yet got back to you about an application, take a deep breath and keep those thoughts offline.
Great points made about recent students being arrested over tweets. Each time an employer runs a google search on these guys - this stuff will come up for years and years to come! Thanks for the link to my video also.
ReplyDeleteVery good point Aimee - thanks to the internet your past is likely to influence your future career prospects. So be careful what you tweet!
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