Social Networking Sites Used To Select New Hires
UK interviewers are the least likely to use this method of checking candidates while their German counterparts are almost twice as likely as any other country to conduct such online searches. From the interviewers who do conduct these searches a massive 52% say they would use this information to influence their hiring decisions.32% of candidates think that what they put on their social networking profiles may affect their chances of winning a job, but under a quarter of UK candidates think this.
Vice President for Europe at DDI, Steve Newhall says: "It appears that jobseekers are quite naç¯ve about how personal information on social networking sites is used. While job candidates should consider the sort of information they post online, interviewers should also realise that much of what is put there is for fun, and is unlikely to reflect a candidate"s on-the-job demeanour or performance."
The flip-side to this is of course potential employees searching the social sites to get a better angle on their interviewer. Not only may this approach give them a better insight into the company they"re dealing with, but it will also enable them to structure and pose questions which will surely help them at least getting a nose ahead on fellow interviewees.
The long and short of this is, if you"re going to have a public profile; individual or company, then expect it to act for and against you, depending totally on the character of the person reading the profile.