Workers Not Using Social Network Sites to Find Jobs, But Employers Are Looking

We’ve written about the positive benefits of blogging and how it can aid your job search, but the issue of using social networking sites on the job search may be a different story altogether. At least that’s how workers look at it.
A recent survey we conducted shows that the vast majority of workers want to keep their social networking site activities just that – social. In fact, only 19 percent of workers surveyed last month said that they would post their resume on social networking sites like MySpace, Friendster or Facebook.
On first glance, this is understandable. People want to keep their social lives separate from their work lives and those sites are viewed as fun, free-spirited social domains. But unfortunately, employers don’t look at them that way.
We see an increasing number of employers and recruiters going to these sites to see what current and potential workers have posted. Those risqué pictures or comments about last week’s tailgate party may just come back to haunt you.
We also asked workers about the content on the sites, but only 33% said they would remove content they posted if they knew their employer or potential employer would be viewing it. Either the majority of people aren’t worried about what they have up there because it isn’t an issue or they just don’t care that their employer may see it.
Whatever the case is, it makes sense to review the content on the sites and consider what an employer may see or read about you. This isn’t to say that your MySpace page should be only used to promote your resume and skills, but if there is questionable content, you may want to think twice about keeping it up.
A word to the wise, pictures of the big keg party or last year’s Fantasy Fest escapades may be better off somewhere else. How would you feel if the person you were interviewing with (or worse yet, your current supervisor) made mention of them?
— Kip Havel is the director of public relations and corporate marketing for Spherion, a leading provider of recruiting and staffing services.