More Employers Using Social Networks To Screen Job Candidates

By Mike Sachoff - Thu, 09/11/2008 - 14:53

Profiles can hurt and help

More employers are screening potential job candidates by looking at their social networking profiles.

Twenty- two percent of hiring managers said they use social networks to research job candidates, up 11 percent, according to a survey of more than 3,100 employers from CareerBuilder.com Another 9 percent said they don't use social networking sites to screen potential employees, but plan to start.

Among employers who have screened job candidates through social networking profiles, 34 percent said they had found content that caused them to dismiss the candidate from consideration.

Some of the major areas of concern for employers included candidates that posted information about them drinking or using drugs (41%), posting inappropriate photographs (40%) and badmouthing previous employers (29%).

Social networking profiles gave some job seekers an advantage with 24 percent of employers who researched job candidates social networking profiles found the content helped them to decide to hire the candidate.

Top influences on their hiring decision included the candidate's background supported their qualifications for the job (48%), great communication skills (43%), and a good fit for the company's culture (40%).

"Hiring managers are using the Internet to get a more well-rounded view of job candidates in terms of their skills, accomplishments and overall fit within the company," said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.com.

"As a result, more job seekers are taking action to make their social networking profiles employer-friendly. Sixteen percent of workers who have social networking pages said they modified the content on their profile to convey a more professional image to potential employers."

News Tags: Technology, Social Media, Employers, CareerBuilder

About the author:
Mike is a staff writer for WebProNews.

1 Comment

By SEO4Jobs (WPN reader) - Sun, 09/14/2008 - 20:09

These stats are REAL proof, that social media DOES impact hiring

Employers have only recently started using social media sites to "investigate" possible candidates.

If your looking for a management position, or a position that requires any types of relationships, like sales, your "google" reputation has a big impact.

If your looking for a sales job, and your LinkedIn.com profile doesn't show your experience, and relationships, you just aren't getting hired. Period.

Job seekers need to build their personal brands, and authority, and watch out for other less than appropriate information, just like employers should be doing.

Employers are also learning the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to their Recruiting Efforts. With a successful SEO and Career Site Design, comes "trusted authority", which all enteprises want to have. It's the upper hand when building your recruiting brand.

Career Site Optimization helps employers build their social networking footprint, just link LinkedIn does for individual job seekers. I work for www.SEO4Jobs.com and see this everyday.