OMG! Check UR Facebook Page B4 Big Interview

Lynn Eastep — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:37:00 +0000

After months of searching for a new job, you’ve finally scored an interview for a position that doesn’t require you to say “Would you like fries with that?” So, when preparing for that interview, you start making a mental checklist: Resume? Check. Interview suit? Check. Removing “Girls Gone Wild” pics from your Facebook page? Uh oh.

According to a new study conducted by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder.com, 45 percent of employers questioned are using social networks to screen job candidates — more than double from a year earlier, when a similar survey found that just 22 percent of supervisors were researching potential hires on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn.

The study, which questioned 2,667 managers and human resource workers, found that 35 percent of employers decided not to offer a job to a candidate based on the content uncovered on a social networking site. (The survey has no margin of sampling error because it was not drawn from a representative nationwide sample but rather from volunteer participants.)

More than half of the employers who participated in the survey said that provocative photos were the biggest factor contributing to a decision not to hire a potential employee, while 44 percent of employers pinpointed references to drinking and drug use as red flags. The top examples cited include:

Candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information – 53 percent
Candidate posted content about them drinking or using drugs – 44 percent
Candidate bad-mouthed their previous employer, co-workers or clients – 35 percent
Candidate showed poor communication skills – 29 percent
Candidate made discriminatory comments – 26 percent
Candidate lied about qualifications – 24 percent
Candidate shared confidential information from previous employer – 20 percent

Recently, a British woman was publicly fired on Facebook for defaming her employer.

The woman, whose identity was blacked out on internet blog Applicant, reportedly vented her frustrations about her boss and workplace on her Facebook status, according to World News Australia.

After posting “OMG I HATE MY JOB!! My boss is a total pervvy (sic) wanker always making me do sh*t stuff just to piss me off!! WANKER!” she was immediately fired by her boss. Unfortunately, the now-unemployed worker had added her boss as a friend, allowing him, and all other co-workers see her status. The boss then proceeded to identify her day-to-day mistakes while ending the post with a notice of termination: “Don’t bother coming in tomorrow.”

What’s the lesson here? Social networking is a great way to make connections with potential job opportunities and promote your personal brand across the Internet but, if not used appropriately, can hurt your job search and can lead to job loss. Job seekers need to be mindful of the information they post online and how they communicate directly with employers. Just because social media is all about transparency doesn’t mean you have to be transparent in everything you do. Transparency comes with a cost — in some cases, losing a job.

com.motion » CareerBuilder.com

OMG! Check UR Facebook Page B4 Big Interview