Expert reveals what small business owners should look for when screening candidates online
What’s happening: Employers routinely screen candidates online before hiring, but qualified applicants often lose opportunities due to subtle digital behaviors they don’t realise create red flags. Digital marketing expert Yassin Aberra identifies three critical mistakes: sharing controversial content without context, complete digital invisibility, and inconsistent personal branding.
Why this matters: For SME owners conducting their own hiring, understanding what to look for online helps identify genuine concerns versus irrelevant personal content. Small teams can’t afford problematic hires, making effective digital screening essential while avoiding legal pitfalls and missing qualified candidates over minor issues.
Qualified job candidates are losing opportunities before they ever reach the interview stage, not because of obvious social media mistakes, but due to subtle digital behaviors that create red flags for hiring managers conducting online screening.
Yassin Aberra, Founder and CEO of Social Market Way, a digital marketing agency specialising in SEO and online visibility strategies, says most job seekers focus on removing obviously problematic content while missing the subtle digital behaviors that truly concern employers.
“Candidates might assume that staying ‘professional’ online is enough,” Aberra said. “However, the reality is more complex. Simply avoiding party photos isn’t enough anymore, and it’s now about how you engage, what you share, and whether your digital presence tells a consistent, credible story.”
Controversial sharing backfires
Research coauthored by Youngjin Kwon, WSU Assistant Professor of Information Systems, shows that engaging with controversial or polarising topics on social media can negatively impact chances of getting hired, even if a candidate’s skills and qualifications are top-notch.
According to Aberra, the issue isn’t necessarily having opinions, but how those opinions appear to someone scrolling through a profile in 30 seconds.
Political reposts, aggressive commentary on contentious issues, and screenshots of heated debates all create the same problem: they signal potential workplace conflict without offering context or nuance.
“Employers aren’t necessarily trying to silence political expression,” Aberra said. “They’re just protecting their company culture and brand reputation. When they see someone regularly engaging in polarised discussions online, they worry about how that person will interact with colleagues, clients, or represent the company publicly.”
Even sharing content from both sides of an issue can backfire. What feels like balanced engagement to a candidate might read as someone who invites controversy, which is exactly what risk-averse hiring managers want to avoid.
Digital invisibility concerns
Complete digital invisibility raises its own concerns for employers. While private profiles are completely reasonable and increasingly common, refusing to provide any professional visibility during a hiring process can appear evasive.
Candidates with no Google footprint, entirely locked social accounts, or zero evidence of professional expertise face a different problem: they look disengaged from their field.
“A locked personal Instagram is fine, expected even,” Aberra said. “But if you’re applying for a marketing role and have no professional presence whatsoever, that’s concerning. It suggests you’re not engaged with industry trends, not building a network, and possibly not comfortable with the digital landscape you’d be working in.”
He notes that candidates who explain privacy concerns upfront or maintain a clear professional presence on platforms like LinkedIn while keeping personal accounts private strike the right balance. Complete invisibility, or refusing access when requested, creates doubt.
Inconsistent branding matters
Different job titles on LinkedIn versus a personal website, professional headshots on one platform with casual beach photos on another, and bios describing completely different career focuses depending on where someone finds them all erode trust during the hiring process.
Aberra points out that these inconsistencies might seem minor, but they raise questions about accuracy, attention to detail, and whether candidates are being honest about their background.
“Think about it from an employer’s perspective,” Aberra said. “If you can’t maintain consistent messaging about your own career across three social platforms, how will you maintain consistent messaging for our brand? It’s not about demanding perfection, but rather looking for basic coherence.”
He emphasises that creating identical profiles everywhere isn’t the solution, as different platforms serve different purposes. However, core professional identity including job title, key skills and career trajectory should align.
What employers actually check
Aberra warns that the digital screening process has become more sophisticated than most candidates realise, with employers no longer only looking for red flags but also assessing cultural fit, professional engagement, and whether online presence aligns with how candidates present themselves in applications.
“The candidates who succeed are those who treat their digital footprint as an extension of their professional reputation, not an afterthought,” Aberra said.
He recommends candidates start by searching themselves the way a recruiter would to understand what story their online presence tells, whether it’s consistent, and if it shows engagement with their field.
“If you find gaps or inconsistencies, address them before you start applying,” Aberra said. “The good news is that these issues are entirely fixable. A few hours spent auditing and aligning your profiles can mean the difference between landing an interview and never hearing back.”
For small business owners conducting their own hiring without dedicated HR departments, Aberra’s analysis provides a framework for effective candidate screening that focuses on genuine workplace concerns rather than irrelevant personal content, helping identify quality talent while protecting company culture and brand reputation.
Yassin Aberra, is the Founder and CEO of Social Market Way
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