Job Hunting? Take those wild party pics off

Forty-five22 percent of the employers surveyed for CareerBuilder.com, the largest US online job site, said they use social networking sites to check on job candidates, up from just 22 percent in a survey conducted last year.

Another 11 percent said they plan to start using social networking sites for screening.

"As social networking grows increasingly pervasive, more employers are utilizing these sites to screen potential employees," CareerBuilder said in a statement.

It said job seekers should "be mindful of the information they post online."

CareerBuilder said that of those who conduct online searches as background checks on job candidates, 29 percent use Facebook, 26 percent use LinkedIn and 21 percent use MySpace.

Eleven percent search blogs while seven percent follow candidates on micro-blogging service Twitter.

Thirty-five percent of those surveyed said they have found content on a social network that caused them not to hire a candidate, CareerBuilder said.

Examples included "provocative or inappropriate photographs or information" or content about drinking or using drugs.

Other reasons cited were badmouthing a previous employer, co-workers or clients, poor communication skills, making discriminatory comments, lying about qualifications or sharing confidential information from a previous employer.

Information found on social networking profiles was not always a negative factor in finding a job.

Eighteen percent of employers said they have found content on social networking sites that caused them to hire the candidate, CareerBuilder said.

Some profiles "provided a good feel for the candidate?s personality" or supported their professional qualifications while others demonstrated creativity or solid communication skills.

Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder, recommended that candidates "clean up digital dirt" before beginning a job search by removing photos, content and links which could hurt their chances.

The survey of 2,667 hiring managers and human resource professionals was conducted by Harris Interactive between May 22 and June 10. It has a sampling error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.

Source: physorg.com

Top Ten Turn-Offs for Employers on social networking sites

1. References to drug abuse

2. Extremist / intolerant views, including racism, sexism

3. Criminal activity

4. Evidence of excessive alcohol consumption

5. Inappropriate pictures, including nudity

6. Foul language

7. Links to unsuitable websites

8. Lewd jokes

9. Silly email addresses

10. Membership of pointless / silly groups

Employers Using Social Networks to screen Employees

As social networking becomes increasingly widespread, more employers are using these sites to screen potential employees.

More than half (53%) of employers reported in a recent CareerBuildere.co.uk survey that they use social networking sites to research job candidates. Another 12 percent plan to start using social networking sites for screening.

Among employers who conduct online background checks of job candidates, 43 percent use search engines, 12 percent use Facebook and 12 percent use LinkedIn. Three percent search blogs and 4 percent follow candidates on Twitter.

“Social networking is a great way to make connections with potential job opportunities in 2010 and promote your personal brand across the Internet,” said Farhan Yasin, president of CareerBuilder EMEA.

“Make sure you are using this resource to your advantage by conveying a professional image and underscoring your qualifications.”

Top reasons why employers disregarded candidates after screening online:

• Candidate lied about qualifications – 38 percent
• Candidate showed poor communication skills – 31 percent
• Candidate made discriminatory comments – 13 percent
• Candidate posted content about them drinking or using drugs – 10 per cent
• Candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information – 9 percent
• Candidate bad-mouthed their previous employer, co-workers or clients – 9 percent
• Candidate shared confidential information from previous employer – 8 percent

Top reasons employers hired candidates after screening online:

• Profile supported candidate’s professional qualifications – 61 percent
• Candidate showed solid communication skills – 41 percent
• Candidate was well-rounded – 37 percent
• Profile provided a good feel for the candidate’s personality and fit – 28 percent
• Candidate seemed creative -24 percent Candidate conveyed a professional image – 22 percent
• Candidate received awards and accolades – 15 percent
• Other people posted good references about the candidate – 15 percent

Source : Advantage SEO

Some Facebook Privacy Policies to take note of

1. Certain categories of information such as your name, profile photo, list of friends and pages you are a fan of, gender, and networks you belong to are considered publicly available, and therefore do not have privacy settings. (We will soon stop using regional networks, but your geographic region will still be considered publicly available. (facebook policy)

2. Some of the content you share and the actions you take will show up on your friends’ home pages and other pages they visit. (facebook policy)

3. Even after you remove information from your profile or delete your account, copies of that information may remain viewable elsewhere to the extent it has been shared with others, it was otherwise distributed pursuant to your privacy settings, or it was copied or stored by other users. (facebook policy)

What is this blog about?

The sole purpose of this blog is to raise awareness on privacy issues connected with utilizing social networking sites and its impact on employment opportunities. Through the surveys,interviews,statistics and articles that will be posted on this blog, we will show you that such a problem is prevalent and real and also attempt to offer solution/solutions.

Social networking is all the rage amongst the youths and young adults. Amidst all the ‘poking’, casual/funny comments posted, and uploading of thousands and thousands of photos on these sites, does this group of people really wish to share such information with the internet community? If such information (if objectionable) were retrieved by their potential employers or recruiters, would their employment opportunities be compromised?

Targeted Audience

Youths (tertiary students especially, e.g. NUS undergraduates), and young working adults.

Background Information

Current Situation:

• The use of social media will continue to grow, this only means that privacy issues will be more widespread and apparent
• Current technology allows for extraction of anonymous data from social networking sites using computer algorithms, and reconstruct their real names and email addresses
  ==> Salesforce.com for example, can grab Twitter’s post and constantly monitors them
• These data can be used by third-party advertising companies and exploited
• Shift in the way recruiters work, he/she can perform background checks the moment a candidate’s email address is obtained
• 4 in 10 HR managers have chosen not to hire a candidate as a result of negative online content found in social networking sites