Social networking is definitely no longer a fad, it is an innovative way to communicate with peers, colleagues, old friends, and…future employers?  It is easy to get caught up in the fun, light atmosphere of Facebook, but future employers may not enjoy so thoroughly those pictures from last Friday night or that you are part of the Facebook group ‘procrastination 101.’ 

According to a survey of more than 31,000 employers released by CareerBuilder.com, more than 1 in 5 employers are searching social networking sites, such as Facebook, to screen job candidates.  Of those employers who did use social networking sites, one-third said they found information on an applicant’s profile that cost them the job.  This brings up all sorts of questions on the ethics of profile snooping. 

Many employers may not have personal profiles, but they are finding more and more ways to use social networking sites in their hiring process.   Health care providers and financial services firms are among the top employers to use online social sites but many more are following suit.  Facebook and other similar sites are appealing to employers because they offer more information on a candidate that may not come out in an interview.

New college graduates are the largest targets for employer web research and also the demographic most using social networks.  When you are new to the field, you just don’t have a lot to look at in terms of background or references so employers check out your Facebook. 

Their top areas of concern are:

• Information about alcohol or drug use (41% of managers said this was a top concern)
• Inappropriate photos or information posted on a candidate's page (40%)
• Poor communication skills (29%)
• Bad-mouthing of former employers or fellow employees (28%)
• Inaccurate qualifications (27%)
• Unprofessional screen names (22%)
• Notes showing links to criminal behavior (21%)
• Confidential information about past employers (19%)

There are ways for you to fix your already existing profile so that you do not run into these issues while trying to find a job in this already difficult job market.

First, make sure that you fix these problems:

• Grammar on your profile should be corrected if improper.  Employers are not looking to hire someone who does not know the difference between ‘your’ and ‘you’re’.  Communication skills are very important.
  
• Derogatory comments or complaints or radical political positions also can draw the scrutiny of a prospective employer.
  
• There should be no ‘bad mouthing’ of any previous employers, colleagues, or even professors.  Integrity is very important to most companies.
  
• Posted information or photographs of drug use was the top concern for employers and this information should be made private or removed completely.
  

These may seem like obvious ways to get you into trouble with an employer, but each employer will have their own set of standards.  Are photographs from a beach trip considered inappropriate?  Is enjoying a beer at a bar with friends considered drug use to some employers?  These are questions that will only get tougher to determine as Facebook’s popularity continues to climb.

One way to get around this issue of how much personal information is appropriate, is to make your profile ‘private.’  Facebook has new privacy settings that let you make your entire profile not searchable and even lets you pick and choose exactly which of your friends can see what on your profile.  Careerbuilder.com’s advice to job seekers is to either have a completely ‘private’ profile or to regularly edit their social-networking pages to insure there is no damaging information on them.  It is critical in today’s job market to make sure that you are not further hurting your chances of getting that job.

By Marjorie Gómez

Sources:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/20/more-employers-use-social-networks-to-check-out-applicants/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20202935/
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9114560/One_in_five_employers_uses_social_networks_in_hiring_process?taxonomyId=1&intsrc=kc_top&taxonomyName=knowledge_center