While it may seem fun to post pictures of your drunken night at the bar on social media, there’s a good chance those shots can come back to haunt you. You could have the best job interview of your life, but lose it because of what you post on sites like Facebook or Instagram. In fact, it seems more and more companies admit they are factoring social media into their hiring decisions.
A new CareerBuilder survey finds that just like last year, 70% of employers admit to using social media to screen candidates with 7% more planning to start. And they aren’t just looking for objectionable content. In fact, 47% of employers say if they can’t find someone online they probably won’t give the person an interview, with 28% saying they need it to gather more info on a candidate, and 20% saying they expect potential employees to have an online presence.
Of course, what you put online can also cause you to lose a gig. Overall, 57% of employers say they have found content on social media that made them not hire a candidate for a job. As for what caused them to rethink that decision, some of the reasons include:
- Job candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photographs, videos or information: 40%
- Job candidate posted information about them drinking or using drugs: 36%
- Job candidate had discriminatory comments related to race, gender, religion, etc.: 31%
- Job candidate was linked to criminal behavior: 30%
- Job candidate lied about qualifications: 27%
- Job candidate had poor communication skills: 27%
- Job candidate bad-mouthed their previous company or fellow employee: 25%
- Job candidate's screen name was unprofessional: 22%
- Job candidate shared confidential information from previous employers: 20%
- Job candidate lied about an absence: 16%
- Job candidate posted too frequently: 12%
And once you get the job you shouldn’t think you’re in the clear. The survey finds that 48% of employers continue to monitor social networking sites to research employees, with 10% doing it daily. Also, 34% have discovered content that caused them to reprimand of fire an employee.
Source: Business Insider