HR & Social Media: Love or hate?
21st Nov 2011 | Posted by Christianna Giordano
It is no longer a question that employers are checking you out on social networks - according to Media Bistro, 76% of employers check Facebook, Twitter (53%) and LinkedIn (48%) during the hiring process. This isn’t always a bad thing, unless of course you do these five things, in which case, you’ll never get hired.
Although LinkedIn prides itself as “an Internet platform company focused on connecting the world’s professionals”, Facebook is actually where most employers read up on you. Even though LinkedIn experienced a 60% growth in users in 2011, more than 75% of employers check Facebook as a reference, less than half view your LinkedIn profile.
Stephanie Howley, C&W’s Senior Vice President, Human Resources, comments, “More than 80% of Cohn & Wolfe’s candidates are generated from research on social media sites. If you aren’t using the sites to your professional advantage, we don’t know you exist.” This captures the reality of the relationship between social media and human resources.
The Hate
- 1 in 3 employers have rejected candidates based on something found in their online profiles
- 75% of recruiters are required by their companies to perform online research of candidates
- 11% of employers have not hired a candidate because of inappropriate comments or pictures found online
The Love
- 68% of employers have hired a candidate because of something they saw about them on a social networking site
- 89% of companies use social media for recruiting
- 1.44 million people (64%) have found their last job through social media
In the end, HR and social media has a lasting relationship - 64% of employers plan on using two or more networks for recruiting in the upcoming year. So, if you are on the job hunt, using your platforms correctly can put you ahead of the crowd, but on the flip side - one status update can push you to the bottom.
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