This could sound drab, but it could become the next great piece of parental advice: be careful what you post on your social profile because the eyes of a potential employer will be roving there soon and worst of all, you might not even know. Dismiss this at your own peril if you like, but just know that there is an overwhelming pile of evidence to suggest this advice is not just good, but critical.
Recently, Career Builder carried out a survey on recruiters and found that 45% of the respondents confessed that they screened social media profiles of potential candidates to gauge whether they would be a good fit.
The 45% represents a double figure compared to last year, meaning this trend is on its upward curve. Most companies and countries don’t have policies about using social media like Facebook and Twitter to vet job seekers, but recruiters are not getting contended by the fancy language and professional look you display during interviews; they want to know the real you and they think your social media can provide an important clue.
A recent research by Carnegie Mellon University shows that your social media information may make or break your chances of getting hired. Another report by On Device Research shows that 1 in 10 job seekers have been turned down because of a photo, an update, a comment on their Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and other social media sites.
Despite the fact that the government may have laws against discrimination when it comes to hiring, many companies are of the consensus that looking up job candidate’s social profiles is a smart thing to do. This may go along with doing a criminal background check. Therefore, it makes sense to do a social media background check.
