What Do Employers Check About You Online? (3 Things HR Looks At Before Hiring You)
Career coach and former recruiter Emily Durham breaks down how your online presence and internet history can impact your job search, promotions, and overall career growth. Drawing from real HR and recruiting experience, she shares actionable advice on what recruiters actually look for when they Google candidates, review LinkedIn profiles, and assess social media activity. From avoiding red flags on Facebook and Twitter/X to ensuring your resume matches your LinkedIn and understanding how employers monitor work devices, this guide helps professionals protect their reputation, stand out in hiring decisions, and stay ahead in today’s digital-first workplace.
Transcript:
Typically, before an interview—or at least before a job offer—I can almost guarantee that every single recruiter is Googling you. Mostly because if there is something… questionable associated with your name and it comes up that they didn’t catch it, it just looks really bad on them.
So it’s pretty industry standard for a candidate to be Googled before you put them forward and formally endorse them.
Now sometimes you Google candidates and a lot of stuff pops up. But what most people don’t realize—especially if you haven’t worked in HR or recruiting—is that unless you have a massive headline that comes up when we Google you, the main websites that show up are LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter/X.
I guess that’s three websites.
Money-back guarantee the recruiter is clicking on them just to make sure there’s not some weird, questionable behavior.
Most people don’t even realize that their Facebook profile is more open than they think—which includes things you’ve posted historically. And no, I wouldn’t lose sleep over having a couple pictures with beers in your hand or doing a keg stand back in 2017. That’s fine.
But a lot of people—myself included—captured their partying days on Facebook because that’s what was trending at the time. And a lot of people don’t realize that their private Instagram is actually linked to their Facebook.
I didn’t realize that my Instagram posts—even from my Finsta, because yes I do have one—were getting posted to my Facebook.
So when a recruiter went onto my Facebook, it was way more open than I thought. They could see all of my photo dumps—me with a drink, cigarette, whatever.
Not the end of the world—but also not exactly what I want HR seeing.
Keeping it real, having a slightly unprofessional Facebook profile is not the end of the world.
But this kind of is:
obscene amounts of cussing
really aggressive or negative language
consistently unprofessional behavior
You’re totally allowed to have a life outside of work. And I do think it’s weird that recruiters look at this.
But if your profile goes from:
“this person has a life”
to
“this could be an issue”
That’s where I’ve literally seen recruiters say, “If a hiring manager sees this, I’m going to feel embarrassed putting them forward.”
Same goes—if not worse—for your Twitter or X. I still cannot adjust to calling it X.
If you use your real name, it’s incredibly easy to find. And unless your account is private, people can see:
who you follow
what you repost
what you tweet
If it’s memes, jokes, restaurants—totally fine.
But if you had a bad day at work and started talking shit about your boss—which, let’s be real, a lot of us have done—if a future employer sees that, they’re going to assume you’ll do the same to them.
Even if it was 10 years ago.
Again, this isn’t to scare you or say you have to be completely polished online. Cussing, social life, whatever—that’s normal.
I actually think some of this is kind of ridiculous. My Facebook is full of me partying hard in university. I was not playing.
That doesn’t mean I’m not responsible now at the ripe age of 30.
So I’m not saying it’s right—I’m just saying this is how some employers, especially more conservative ones, interpret your digital presence.
The same can actually be said for comments you leave on Instagram.
Now, recruiters aren’t manually searching your comments—but coworkers will see them.
I’ve heard multiple stories where someone joins a company, adds coworkers on Instagram, and then suddenly a post pops up where that person commented something… not great.
Talking badly about their boss. Being super negative. Just enough where it’s like… okay, that’s uncomfortable.
I know someone who commented “me lol” on a post about hating your boss.
Their boss ended up seeing it because a coworker showed them.
That person got fired.
This is why I always say: friendly—not friends.
If you don’t have to add your coworkers on Instagram… don’t.
Which leads me to one of my favorite platforms: LinkedIn.
When HR is about to interview you or extend an offer, they are 100% going to your LinkedIn.
And it’s usually neutral—it’s to check mutual connections, maybe send a request.
But if your LinkedIn does not match your resume?
That’s a problem.
If you’ve:
inflated your job title
stretched your responsibilities
changed timelines
And it doesn’t match—red flag.
Because your resume is private, people feel more comfortable exaggerating. But LinkedIn is public. Former coworkers can see it. Managers can see it.
So if there’s a mismatch, recruiters start wondering: which one is the truth?
This is why I always say—copy and paste your resume into LinkedIn. Keep it consistent.
I did not realize this until I worked in HR, but… you do realize your work computer is monitored, right?
When a company gives you a laptop or phone, you need to use it carefully.
No, no one is sitting there watching everything you do all day.
But systems exist.
Most companies have flags set up for:
certain keywords
certain behaviors
certain searches
Some companies—even track inactivity. Like if you’re not typing for long periods or just wiggling your mouse.
That’s rare—but it exists.
What is very common?
Keyword flagging.
If you’re venting on Slack like:
“I hate this job”
“This is bullshit”
Certain words can trigger flags.
And if enough flags build up, your account can be reviewed.
IT can access messages to check for:
workplace issues
risk concerns
policy violations
And that can get escalated to HR or your manager.
Same goes for browsing.
If you are Googling questionable things on a work device… they can see that.
If they own the device, they have access to it.
In many contracts, they literally state they can review activity on company-issued devices.
Are they going to fire you for one frustrated message? No.
But patterns? Language? Behavior?
Yes—that can get you in trouble.
I know of a case where someone used their work phone to search… let’s just say very inappropriate content.
That keyword triggered a flag.
HR reviewed it.
They were fired the next day.
So the bottom line is:
Use your work computer like your boss could read everything.
Does that mean you can’t vent? No.
But:
avoid aggressive language
avoid flaggable keywords
avoid anything you wouldn’t say directly in a workplace
The digital age is wild because no one really prepared us for this.
What do you mean someone can see my Facebook from 2012?
And to be clear—I think some of this is invasive.
But my job is to make sure you have the information to protect yourself and stay ahead.
Because I’ve got your back.
I really hope this was helpful. I love hanging out with you—thank you for being here, and I’ll see you in the next one.
