Digital Biographer™

Twenty-two percent of hiring managers said they use social networking sites to research job candidates, up from 11 percent in 2006, according to a nationwide survey of more than 3,100 employers from CareerBuilder.com. An additional 9 per cent said they don’t currently use social networking sites to screen potential employees, but plan to start.

Of those hiring managers who have screened job candidates via social networking profiles, one-third (34 percent) reported they found content that caused them to dismiss the candidate from consideration. THAT IS MORE THAN ONE IN THREE.

Top areas for concern among these hiring managers included:

• 41% – information about them drinking or using drugs
• 40% – provocative or inappropriate photographs or information
• 29% – poor communication skills
• 22% – screen name was unprofessional
• 19% – shared confidential information from previous employers

On the other hand, social networking profiles also can give job seekers an edge over the competition. Twenty-four percent of hiring managers who researched job candidates via social networking sites said they “found content that helped to solidify their decision to hire the candidate“.

Top factors that influenced their hiring decision included:

• 48% – candidate’s background supported their qualifications for the job
• 43% – candidate had great communication skills
• 36% – candidate’s site conveyed a professional image
• 31% – candidate had great references posted about them by others
• 24% – candidate’s profile was creative

So, if you’re aiming to be hired, you need to make sure your online profiles match the picture you want a potential employer to see, because there’s a greater than one in five chance that they will check out your profile online, and an even greater chance that if they see something they like there, that fact will help you to get the job you have applied for.

The careerbuilder site gives a number of fairly obvious tips to ensure you are viewed favourably, but I have a few more:

1. Use online profiles to create positive information about yourself, and ask for recommendations or testimonials from others that can be placed on these profiles. LinkedIn is probably the best example where you can receive testimonials from work colleagues, associates and employers.
2. Monitor your own name with a service such as Google Alerts – or if you are really serious about managing your reputation online, try Trackur – it has a 14-day free trial.
3. invest in your own name as a domain name, especially if you have a common name. I own both davidpetherick.name and davidpetherick.com, for example. And add content and commentary there – preferably right in the heart of your area of expertise – but also as a place where you can show diverse aspects of your personality or interests.

The survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 3,169 hiring managers and human resource professionals (employed full-time; not self-employed; with at least significant involvement in hiring decisions) and 8,785 employees (employed full-time; not self-employed) ages 18 and over between May 22 and June 13, 2008, respectively.

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