45% of companies use social sites to screen potential candidates

In today’s connected world, where almost everybody is on Facebook, personal profiles are becoming an increasingly important aspect in everybody’s lives. Great if you’re disconnected from the world and refuse to have anything to do with putting your profile online, but for those who are – be careful of what you put online.

According to a survey conducted back in 2009 by CareerBuilder, 45% of companies use social sites to screen potential hires – and 35% of the time, they spot something on social sites that cause them not to hire a candidate. If you’re wondering what’s the main reason why employers decide not to hire someone – it’s the provocative/inappropriate photographs or information displayed on his or her profile.

So if you’re applying for a job, it’d be best if you clean up your profile if you have any questionable content. Other things to look out for, content about drinking alcohol or using drugs, mad-mouthing about previous employers, co-workers or clients, and poor communication skills. If you’re interested in finding out more about how companies screen their potential candidates, check out the infographic from Mindflash. What do you think about the usage of social sites to screen possible employees? Is it a fair thing to do?

George Wong
Categories: Web
Tags: social networks