Posted by EmployTest - on Mon, Aug 24, 2009 @ 07:57 AM
If so, you're not alone. CareerBuilder's latest survey says that 45% of employers are using these social networking sites with increasing regularity. And that represents a significant increase from last year's numbers, where only 22% of employers reported using such sites.
Of the employers in the 45% group, the following percentages use these sites:
Facebook: 29%
LinkedIn: 26%
MySpace: 21%
Searching blogs and Twitter feeds, while it does occur, is much less frequent (11% and 7% respectively). Industries that deal with sensitive information and technology are those most likely to be taking such steps.
What type of information has been found? Inappropriate photographs, content involving drinking/drug use, and badmouthing clients, co-workers, and previous employer.
Should you be taking such steps in your hiring process? It depends, of course, on the applicants you are seeking and the positions you are hiring for. But it certainly could be a valuable information source as long as there is full disclosure to the job applicants, just like with any more traditional type of pre-employment background search.