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Yes, when we're bored and don't have much else to do. More commonly for kids going into the second round then for the initial batch of first round interviewees.
rule of thumb: if you don't want it to be seen, it shouldn't be public. duh
one better: if you dont want it to be seen, dont post it
"Abstinence is the most effective form of birth control"
I'd say unless you're a celebrity or at least a social media celebrity, make your social media accounts private. Even unrelated to work- why do you want random creeps to have the ability to see all your shit?
I'm have a blog on insta. I wrote about it in my hobbies section on my resume. I have a few thousand followers so I guess I'm an insta famous. Since I have a lot of followers sometimes small companies pay me to take promotional pictures with their products which is why I have it public. Is that still bad? There is nothing inappropriate on it but I'm worried it can rub off as materialistic or would they think that's just a silly hobby and not care?
do you take pictures of yourself in your underwear or somebody else's underwear?
are you male or female?
would you want your future employer to see the pictures?
are you sure all of your followers are real people?
how much money do you make from these promos?
there's a big difference between you promoting some product you use that shows something interesting (photography, travel, etc), but if you're sticking your ass out or showing your abs promoting supplements or other garbage, it's time to decide if you want to do that or if you'd rather work in finance, because you can't do both and be taken seriously.
It is a yoga blog. In some pictures I am wearing a sports bra and spandex. I feel like because it has a fitness context it does not come off as trying to look slutty. Or would that still give a bad impression?
I think yoga qualifies as not slutty, so long as interspersed between downward dogs and bakasanas there aren't butt/cleavage shots, you're probably good.
that being said, really ask yourself: do I want my future boss to see this much skin of mine? if the answer is "I don't care," power to you. if not, then I'd go private.
also, I didn't ask: do you have tattoos? if you do, I'd absolutely go private. despite what you may think (I even have tats), people still look down on you if you're inked.
for example: rachel brathen's instagram (minus the bikini ones), I'd say that's totally fine. jen selter? yeah you have a fitness empire, but everyone's there just to look at your ass. know the difference.
dupe
Let's be honest. People aren't there to find workout tips.
Having recruiters see your dank memes are definitely a plus in the 'fit' category.
At my former workplace I had one of my colleagues coming at my desk frequently with a smartphone in his hand and instagram of one of the female candidates opened. Amazing stuff we saw there, yet incredibly stupid thing to do if you apply for the job. At least remove the inappropriate pics in case you have the account publicly available.
That depends on whether you are male or female and if the latter, how hot you are.
I, for one, would need a link to the aforementioned account for research purposes...
EDIT: I think I got it. Good thing you did switch, I guess.
Do interviewers look up your social media accounts?
If you're a girl: Yes
If you're a guy: No
How does it impact your interview odds?
If you're hot: Positive
If you're not: Neutral
You're applying to be an investment banking analyst here, not running for office. I just looked up a few Instagram accounts of our summer interns for reference. A couple of them have +1,000 followers and post their fair share of yoga or beach pictures. I think you're fine.
Post a link here to your ig and we'll have Andy put up a poll and all vote..
this
What is your IG ID? We will do a full analysis and come up with a decision for you.
I am going to be the board contrarian and suggest social media is ok if you don't have anything too controversial or embarrassing. The analyst, associate, and sometimes VP level people want to know you're a human and not some job seeker bot.
Taking down social media carries the same risk as giving a bunch of canned, carefully prepared responses in an interview-- people don't want to hire you if you haven't taken any risk to get this job and if someone discovers you're both into skydiving before they discover your drunk photos, it might help more than it hurt.
If you're from Brigham Young and have a lot of cool hobbies but don't drink, you're probably safe. If you are the president of a frat interviewing in Compliance, I'd take it down.
Use your best judgment.
Thanks for all the feedback :)
Follow up questions: I googled myself and found an article my friend wrote about me for our school newspaper last year and my career goal was not investment banking at that time. Is that bad?
Many of the comments above seem to be coming from a male perspective. I was talking to my mom about it last night and she told me that other women may not want to work with me if I have an account like that. Thoughts?
@Managerette" tropos chicandtoughness snatch
I believe all the above are women, perhaps they could weigh in
I think your mom is right.
But I would make it private anyway. You kind of have to make a choice over what's more important to you. Your instagram followers or your potential job. People at the finance job might not take you as seriously if you are also doing the IG thing, they may not think you're too into working in finance. And once people have that impression, it's tough to shake.
And if you're a nice, thin lady whose popular with the men, then yes, some women will be terrible to you. Not all! Please keep in mind that 90% won't, but come on girl, you know how it is.
Also, don't forget that if you are earning income from your IG then you would have to declare it on your U4 fi you should get hired.
Just make it private until you get the job, then make it public again.
@mmmm123, you would not believe the amount of raunchy gossip / IG / snapchat that goes on in a banking analyst bullpen. You have made a wise decision to take the IG private.
Avoid any form of online communication that is not anonymous or private. One of my friends lost his job over an Instagram account.
Have been turned down an offer because of an instagram post:
big tittied girl with a shirt that read, "stop teen pregnancy, take it in the ass."
promptly went private
Late to the party but wanted to add my perspective in case someone is looking for this info later. My opinion is different from what was said previously and the same no matter what your gender or identity.
Remove anything from social media and google which you are ashamed of. This goes for drunken pictures on your old myspace as well as arrest records on aggregator sites. Anything which is part of your core identity stays - whether it's a yoga blog, political activism, or your star wars fan club membership.
People WILL Google you - both recruiters and people interviewing you before final rounds. Interviewers may not before earlier interviews. If someone has a problem with your core identity, fuck 'em: you don't want to work with them anyways. If people pass your instagram around and talk about you in an unflattering matter it says more about them than you. At a certain point in our lives we need to stop worrying about the opinions of others for our own personal happiness. Perhaps this is more relevant to consulting (where you are selling a single resource's experience) than IB but there are times in your life where highlighting personal things about yourself will benefit you professionally - there's no reason to hide behind some starched exterior because you think you need to fit in.
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