CorpComms Magazine

Fifty three per cent of companies recruiting staff have rejected potential candidates who have posted provocative and inappropriate photographs or information of themselves on their Facebook pages or social networking sites, according to a new survey by CareerBuilder.

The research found that 45 per cent of employers currently use social networking sites to research job candidates, a jump from 22 per cent last year. One in ten employers search blogs, while 29 per cent use Facebook and 26 per cent use LinkedIn to check out candidates. Seven per cent of recruiters will follow potential candidates on Twitter.

More than one third (35 per cent) of employers reported that they have found information on social networking sites that have caused them not to hire candidates. The examples include badmouthing previous employers (35 per cent), poor communication skills (29 per cent), making discriminatory comments (26 per cent) or lying about qualifications (24 per cent).

One in seven employers have disregarded candidates because they have sent applications using an emoticon such as a smiley face, while 16 per cent rejected candidates who used text speak in their emails or job applications.  

However, 18 per cent of employers report finding information on social networking sites that have caused them to hire candidates. 

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