Today’s savvy job hunters deserve a lot of credit. Most of them – especially the smartest and most talented – know how to network to find opportunities. They understand the value of cultural “fit” – and they value it as much as YOU do. That’s why, once they’ve secured interviews, they prepare! They study the job description, they role-play before their interviews, they jot down questions to ask and they arrive primed and ready to discuss their skills and accomplishment. But do you know the most intelligent thing they are doing? (Something you may not even realize…)
They’re investigating their potential future bosses!
Here’s Where Savvy Job Candidates Go to Get the Goods on YOU!
- LinkedIn: A peak into a profile can provide some great insight for a job candidate. Your own profile reveals a lot about your management skills and your personality. Candidates evaluate the recommendations on your profile to determine if you are characterized as serious and professional or warm and endearing. They also may explore your LinkedIn Groups activity to see how involved you are with your groups. Do you provide assistance or act like a know-it-all? This type of reconnaissance is incredibly important to job hunters.
- Twitter: Twitter posts reveal the tweeter’s personality traits. Your word choice and even the punctuation you use can give candidates insight into your mood, energy, interests, imagination and intellect. Do you tweet helpful information or angry tantrums? Candidates want to know!
- Google: A quick search can be a double-edged sword. Of course, the candidate may stumble upon the WRONG John Smith… but if you are easily found online, candidates can read everything from your blogs to online complaints about you. They can learn personal details, too, such as your home buying activity as well as any legal issues you may have.
- Google Images: Are you laid back and cool, or uptight and rigid? Guess what! Candidates will search for your photo and judge you based on your appearance. (Sound familiar?) Are you pictured online at a sporting or charity event? Candidates love getting a sneak peak at you, because they can find out if you have things in common!
- Contacts/connections: Twitter and LinkedIn also provide information on mutual colleagues and friends. In the past, it was not as easy for interviewees to find common connection with their potential future hiring managers. Now, a simple search can provide job candidates with great opportunities to get insider intelligence from their trusted network.
- Glassdoor: According to a recent Software Advice survey, almost half of their 4,633 respondents used Glassdoor when job hunting. While Glassdoor visitors are most concerned with salary and benefits, many visit the site to read the anonymous reviews of the management of a particular office or location. While they may not mention management by name, it may sometimes be obvious when reading between the lines.
- Ebosswatch.com: More than 40,000 companies and bosses are rated anonymously on this informative website. Are you an honest communicator? Do you care about your employees? Are you, the hiring manager, trusted and respected? Candidates can learn all of this and more if you are listed on this site.
So while you and your HR colleagues are busy screening, searching and scouring the applicants’ backgrounds, job candidates are unearthing information about their potential future bosses. And for good reason! Whether their goal is to connect with their interviewer on a personal level or avoid potentially toxic bosses, strategic research can be the key to helping hopeful candidates secure a job that fits.