Social Networking Explodes As Job-Search Tool, but Pitfalls Abound
Jump 2: Employers Using Social Sites Before Hiring
-- Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

Employers Using Social Sites Before Hiring

Job seekers are not the only ones taking advantage of these new tools. Employers are also jumping on the social networking bandwagon. A recent survey by Jobvite found that 80 percent of companies use or are planning to use social networking sites to fill vacant positions. While LinkedIn is still the most popular site used by employers, with 95 percent of companies using it, Facebook and Twitter are gaining ground. The use of Facebook has grown from 36 percent of recruiters in 2008 to 59 percent in 2009, while Twitter is currently being used by 42 percent of recruiters.

“Social networking should be used cautiously, however,” warns Challenger. “As these sites become increasingly intertwined, it will becomes easier and easier for potential employers to access the more personal aspects of job seekers’ lives.” Status updates on Facebook can now be sent automatically to Twitter followers. A similar cross-service status updates was recently initiated between Twitter and LinkedIn. The problem, said Challenger, is that people tend to use these services in different ways, and these ways are not always compatible with the job search.

In fact, a job seeker is twice as likely to be eliminated from consideration than be hired based on his or her social networking site content, according to a survey of human resources professionals by Careerbuilder.com. In the survey, 35 percent of respondents said they ceased consideration of an applicant due to a social networking gaffe, with reasons ranging from provocative/inappropriate photographs and information to candidates having poor communication skills.

Only 18 percent said they offered a position to a prospective employee due to social networking research, attributing that decision to seeing the candidate as a good fit for the company or the candidate’s site conveying a professional image.

“Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of the Internet is the permanency and pervasiveness of any and all information that finds its way there. Comments on a friend’s blog, reviews on consumer sites and inside jokes made for a private audience on a social networking site’s public group page are all available at the click of a mouse to potential employers.”

“The other danger is that many job seekers tend to let the Internet become their primary, if not sole, job-search tool. It is too easy to simply sit in front of one’s computer all day, scanning job boards and expanding one’s virtual network through LinkedIn. However, these online connections are superficial at best. It takes a lot more work to turn them into meaningful relationships that can advance your job search. In the end, face-to-face meetings are still the most effective relationship-building tool available,” said Challenger.

Social Site Use, Especially by Businesses, Is Up Since 2007 | How to Use Social Networking in a Job Hunt | Back to Main Article