Social Networks Affect Hiring

CareerBuilder.com has done a study of more than 31,000 employers.  They found that 1 in 5 use social networking sites to screen applicants for new jobs.  This has gone from a mere 11% in 2006 and 9% of the surveyed people plan to use it in the future.

A surprising stat from the survey is that 1 out of 3 have found something on social networks to warrant disqualifying the candidate.   So you may be wondering what exactly are they looking for?

• 41% say information regarding drugs and alcohol use is their main concern
• 40% look for inappropriate photos
• 29% look for poor communication skills
• 28% are interested in seeing if the candidate badmouths a former employee
• 27% compare qualifications to application
• 22% make sure the screen name isn't unprofessional
• 21% are concerned with notes regarding criminal behavior
• 19% worry about the candidate posting confidential info from a previous employer

One good thing to come from the survey is that 24% had found information that led to the candidate being hired.

Here are our tips for how to keep your profile professional if you're looking for a job.

• If you don't want to compromise your account, set your account to private so only your friends can see it.  This may sound obvious but many people over look this
• look through all your pictures and take out all those college toga party pictures. 
  
• Set your profile so you have to manually approve all comments.  This will keep your profile clean not only from the ridiculous glitter images people seem to enjoy spreading but also from the comments from your buddies about how wasted you got at the above toga party
• Treat your profile page as an extension of your resume. If you are looking for a job realize that 1 in 5 companies are going to check it.  Make it professional looking and sounding even if it's only until you land your job