For expats social media is very often a lifeline, it’s a great way to stay in touch with friends and family back home, to share moments that amuse or perplex you and, of course, show the world what a great time you are having in Switzerland!
But beware if you are looking for a job here your social media profile could be the end of the line for some. In a recent article in the Neue Luzerner Zeitung it was revealed that several Swiss companies will check social media profiles of potential candidates in order to help them decide whether to employ them or not. Apart from seeing what comes up under your name in a general internet search they may well look you up on Linkedin or Xing and even check your Facebook account.
Pictures or comments that do not reflect well on the candidate may just be the end of the interview process. Companies that have a very public presence like banks for example tend to check social media profiles. They justify this by saying that they need people with integrity, some companies in the pharma industry also adhere to this philosophy. Recruiting companies will also do a background online check.
If for you this is a terrible invasion of privacy then start by checking your personal settings on your Facebook and other pages and switch them all to the highest level of privacy and maybe make sure that your profile picture isn’t too revealing.
If, on the contrary, you see this as a chance to impress even further then make sure your professional online profiles really looks good. If you are applying for a job in IT as a web designer it makes sense to have a good looking personal website.
Check your name online through a web browser and remember that you can now ask Google to delete pages with information about yourself , thanks to the right to be forgotten rule which has been put into place.
The internet may be our playground but it’s also shaping a lot of other things in our lives, so use it sensibly.
