A recent survey conducted by CareerBuilder shows that employers are increasingly researching job candidates on social networking sites. In a survey last year, 22% employers reported that they used social networking sites to screen job candidates. This year the numbers of employers using social networking sites as a researching tool has grown to 45% which is 23% increase in one year. This certainly is a huge jump and just shows how critical it has become to keep an eye on ones profile on these sites. The survey also showed that another 11% planned on using these sites to research on job candidates. We are sure when the survey results comes out next year, the percentage of employers surveyed who use these sites to research on candidates will be close to 70% if not higher.

The recent news of a woman who got fired over her Facebook updates just goes to show how important it is to choose your words wisely on the web. Although we find enough people losing their jobs over the use of these sites, the number seems to keep increasing. Although many argue that their personal life doesn’t really portray the professional side of them, employers like to think otherwise.

The other thing that employers seem to have noticed is the use of SMS language (text message) and emoticons are growing among job candidates. 14% of the employers said they dismissed the job candidate because they used smiley icons (unprofessional) while sending messages. Another 16% of the employers said use of text messaging languages such as GR8 (great) in a message goes to show that a candidate is not very professional.

Some of the reasons employers gave for not hiring a job candidate after looking at their social networking profiles were,

• 53%  posted provocative and inappropriate photographs and/or information
• 44% posted information which talked about them drinking and/or using drugs
• 35% bad mouthed their previous employers
• 29% showed poor communication skills
• 26% made comments on their profiles that were discriminatory
• 24% lied about their qualifications

Although social networking sites have become one of the prime reason for employers to not hire someone, the survey also showed that some employers hired candidates based on their usage of these sites. Below are some of the examples given by employers which helped them hire a job applicant

• 50% provided a good feel for candidate’s personality and fit within the organization
• 39% of the candidate’s profile supported their professional qualifications
• 35% showed excellent communication skills through their profile

Social Networking and social media services are no longer fads and reserved for the teens anymore. It is extremely important to have a presence on these sites as more employers use these to evaluate job candidates. However, use of these services must be used with utmost care so as not to hamper your possibility of landing a job. We have included the press release below.

Forty-five Percent of Employers Use Social Networking Sites to Research Job Candidates –

source

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