Online profiles may doom job seekers
Employers know what you post
By BRIAN NEILL - bneill@bradenton.com
MANATEE — Joshua Way was looking for potential employees for his United Systems computer consulting business in Bradenton not long ago when he came across a page on a social networking site belonging to a potential candidate.
It featured a photo of the man, dressed in attire representative of his favorite sports team, wearing a blue wig and holding a beer. That wasn’t the only reason the candidate was ruled out, but it didn’t help his cause, says Way, chief operating officer of United Systems. “You kind of wonder a little bit, what kind of family do they have? Do they have a family?” Way said. “If you’re looking for a job, I would change my profile picture. Even if you’re not allowing people to see your profile, you can still see your profile picture most of the time.”
The lure of camaraderie and reconnecting with friends from the past on online social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace is too hard for many to pass up.
But the fun can come back to bite individuals who are in the process of looking for a job. “We know that the employers are checking those types of social networking sites,” said Haley Richardson, adviser at Manatee Community College’s Career Center. “So we’re always mentioning to the students that it’s important to clean up those sites before you start your job search. We’ve heard some job offers have been rescinded because of what was found on those sites.”
More than one in five employers search social networking sites to screen job candidates, a survey of more than 31,000 employers last year by job search site CareerBuilder.com found.
One-third of those employers who checked social sites found information that caused them to exclude candidates from the hiring process, according to the survey.
1
David Spire, chief financial officer of United Systems, says checking social networking sites is one of the first things his company does when looking for potential job candidates. “They’re going to be a representative of our company,” he said. “We want to make sure they act appropriately and professionally.”
Not all companies do check social networking sites in the hiring process, however. “Sun Hydraulics does not use social networking sites in our reference checking process for any candidates,” said Kirsten Regal, human resources director for the Sarasota-based maker of hydraulic components. “We prefer to use more traditional methods to establish a good fit for employment with our company.”
Sheree Threewits, director of human resources for Manatee Memorial Hospital, says the hospital conducts its candidate screening through a service provider based in Chicago. She was unaware if social networking sites are looked at as part of the background check.
Allison Nawoj, a spokeswoman with CareerBuilder.com, says research indicates more employers will be taking social Web sites into consideration when hiring in the future. “This is definitely something that is becoming more prevalent,” Nawoj said. “So job-seekers need to remember that anything they post could be viewed by potential employers.”
So does that mean you should abstain completely from having an online profile?
Not necessarily, says Richardson of MCC.
She suggests job-seekers create or maintain profiles on professional Web sites such as LinkedIn to give prospective employers a quick online glance of credentials and past work history. “That’s more professional-looking, and it’s a way to still have an online presence, so when an employee searches for your name or looks for your name it shows that you are still out there,” Richardson said. “It is still good to have an online presence. It’s a way to develop your network. That can help you in the job search.”
2