Social Media Not Best Outlet for Job Seekers

June 27, 2013 – While social media may be a popular vehicle for candidates to do a job search, a new CareerBuilder study shows it can also end up costing you the job. More than two in five (43 percent) hiring managers who currently research candidates via social media said they have found information that has caused them not to hire a candidate, up nine percentage points from last year. The nationwide survey, which was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder and included more than 2,100 hiring managers and human resource professionals, found that nearly two in five companies (39 percent) use social networking sites to research job candidates, up from 37 percent last year. Employers who took a candidate out of the running for a job after researching social media sites reported finding a variety of concerning content. Top mentions ranged from evidence of inappropriate behavior to information that contradicted their listed qualifications. At the same time, some employers also noted that they came across information on social media sites that made a candidate more attractive or solidified the decision to extend a job offer. One in five hiring managers (19 percent) said they found something that has caused them to hire a candidate. “Employers are using all the tools available to them to assure they make the correct hiring decision, and the use of social media continues to grow,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder. “For job seekers it is essential to be aware of what information they're making available to employers, and to manage their online image. At the same time, hiring managers and human resources departments must carefully consider how to use information obtained from social media and whether it is relevant to a candidate's qualifications.”