Social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter are a great way to share ideas, information, and keep up with friends and family. But do not make the mistake of forgetting that the information and data you share on these websites may have an extremely negative effect on your ability to obtain a job or even keep the one you have.

According to a Time.com article, 93% of job recruiters turn to social media websites for information regarding prospective hires.¹ That percentage is not surprising considering the information, in most cases, is completely free, easy to access, and gives the recruiter a window into the candidate’s life outside the interview that otherwise wouldn’t exist. The scariest part about the percentage however, is that you may never know your social media postings are what cost you the job.²

As young lawyers, many of us are extremely aware of the great wealth of information that may be obtained from social media in pursuance of our clients’ litigation matters³, but it is easy to forget the impact information on social media can have on our own careers. Keep in mind, your college roommate is not the only person looking at your social media posts; potential employers, your current employer, and perhaps even clients, are looking at them as well.

Adam White lives in Pensacola, Florida, and is an Associate Attorney at the law firm of Emmanuel, Sheppard & Condon. He is the First Circuit representative on the Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Board of Governors and a Past President of the Escambia-Santa Rosa Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. He is a graduate of Florida Coastal School of Law.
 

¹ Susie Poppick, 10 Social Media Blunders That Cost a Millennial a Job – or Worse, Time.com (Sept. 5, 2014), http://time.com/money/3019899/10-facebook-twitter-mistakes-lost-job-millennials-viral/
² Id.
³ Nucci v. Target Corp., 162 So. 3d 146 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015).