Job Applicants leave Social Media at the door

When applying for a job, it may be best to leave your social media interactions at the door. A survey by the job-hunting site CareerBuilder.com finds more hiring managers are using social media to research candidates, explains CareerBuilder.com’s Michael Erwin.  “39% of human resources professionals now say that they are using social networking sites to research candidates and that is up from 37% last year and that trend continues to grow from years past.” About 43% of hiring managers say details in a candidate’s social media profile caused them not to hire them. That is about a 9% climb since the questions were asked last year. Via Skye, Erwin says on the other hand, one in every five managers says it was a detail on social media that encouraged them to hire someone. “Hiring managers realize that social media is a great way to see if the candidate is going to be a good fit culturally for the environment that they are working in.” Erwin says starting with a clean slate during the interview actually starts with a clean slate online. “If you are starting your job search, you need to start by Google-ing yourself to see if any information is coming up that could potentially harm you and make you not get a job.” Erwin says managers are checking not to find a fault, so much as find a fit. “Employers tell us that they are most interested in a professional presentation and how a candidate would fit into the culture.  They are not necessarily looking for those bad things that are going to disqualify people.  19% said they actually went to their social media site and found something that made them want to hire that person.” The CareerBuilder.com survey found of the faults out there, that a provocative or inappropriate photo topped the list followed by information about a candidate’s drinking or drug use. Another no-no would be bad-mouthing a previous employer.