Social Network Candidate Screening - Top Concerns
Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 04:17PM In September 2008 Careerbuilder.com released their survey‚ “One in Five Employers Use Social Networking Sites to Research Candidates.” Below were the top concerns hiring managers responded they had when checking candidate’s pages.
41 percent: References to alcohol or drug use
40 percent: Inappropriate photos or information posted on their page
29 percent: Poor communication skills
28 percent: Bad mouthing of former or fellow employees
27 percent: Inaccurate qualifications
22 percent: Unprofessional screen names
21 percent: Notes showing links to criminal behavior
19 percent: Divulging confidential information about past employers
On the flip side; 24% of hiring managers in the study found content on social networks that helped convince them to hire a candidate.
(source: Mobility Magazine‚ February 2009)
Recently I read the above statistics. Since I’m a bit of a “numbers guy,” I needed to check it out. Not only did I research “in general,” but I also looked at my own 255+ friends. Sure enough, the numbers weren’t that far off base!
First impressions are very important. Isn’t that what Mom and Dad has always told us? Or, how about the old “guilty by association” (that was my parent’s favorite phrase to use on me!). When looking into these statistics, I first started with my own Face Book page… My profile is very much about my family. My picture was of my wife and I, my status was about where I was taking the kids to dinner that night. Not bad huh? Well…. then I looked down on my “wall” and realized some old childhood friends used some “inappropriate” words. I, all of a sudden, became a statistic.
So, instead of giving do’s and don’ts, I go back to the old saying a former teacher once told me. If you wouldn’t “say it to your Mom, show it to your Mom or share it with your Mom” ….it probably isn’t the right thing to do or say.
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