One in five hiring managers say they use social networking sites to research candidates -- and 1/3 of them dimiss candidates after what they discover.
A survey by online job site CareerBuilder.com of 3,169 hiring managers found 22 percent of them screened potential staff via social networking profiles, up from 11 percent in 2006.
An additional 9 percent said they plan to start using social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace to screen potential employees.
The survey found that 34 percent of the managers who do screen candidates on the Internet found content that made them drop the candidate from any short list.
The top area for concern among the hiring managers were candidates posting:
- Information about drinking or using drugs
- Provocative or inappropriate photographs or information
Other areas of concern to arise from social network sites were:
- Poor communication skills
- Lying about qualifications
- Using discriminatory remarks related to race, gender or religion
- Having an unprofessional screen name
But the survey found hiring managers scouring social network pages was not all bad with 24 percent of these managers saying they found content to help them solidify their decision to hire that candidate.
Top factors that influenced their hiring decision included:
- Candidate's backgrounds supporting their qualifications for the job
- Proving they had good communications skills
- Having a site that conveyed a professional image with a wide range of interests
Be careful of personal information that you post on the Internet
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