44 percent of employers using Facebook to check on job candidates

By Stuart Corner
Thursday, 08 November 2007 05:16

Home IT

iTWire reported a recent survey  of employers in the UK showing that 7.5 percent of them were using social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace as an informal part of the referencing process. Now a survey in the US has put the figure at 44 percent. Vault Survey reports that 39 percent of those surveyed had also looked up the profile of a current employee. Vault gathered 700 responses from employers and employees representing various industries across the United States.

It reported one employer says he looked at these sites, "on occasion, seeking to both corroborate experience and to see if I can learn a bit more about the person." Vault cautioned that "Profiles that reveal questionable behaviour or attitudes can be harmful to job seekers. Of employers, 82 percent say that something they perceive as negative on a profile would affect their decision to hire the applicant."

However, Vault added: "Most employees (75 percent) are aware that potential employers may look up their profiles, and 28 percent think that something on their profiles might be a turn off to future bosses. This explains why 57 percent of employees take security measures, such as using the web site's privacy controls or editing their profiles when in the midst of a job search. According to one employee, "Although I have nothing to hide, I'd rather some employers not see what personal messages my friends have written me."