Have you wondered about who might read or view your profiles on Facebook, MySpace, Squidoo, Wikipedia, YouTube, flickr, Digg etc and how it might affect your future employment opportunities?
It seems that with the advent of social network sites, more and more users are placing themselves at risk by not considering the effect that their messages, profiles and comments may have on their future job prospects.
Remember we are talking about the World Wide Web, and there will be fewer places to hide from embarrassing, mischievous and detrimental Internet content. So whilst it might seem a good idea today, in years to come you might regret some cheeky on-line contributions as you fail to land those aspirational jobs.
Describing intimate details can come back to haunt you
A recent report by the Recruitment Employment Confederation (REC) suggests that employers are turning to social networking sites to filter out unsuitable candidates. Looking at how Web 2.0 strategies are affecting recruitment, a total of 298 recruitment consultants took part in a survey. Results showed that as well as inappropriate information and photos, describing intimate details about leisure pursuits and weekend hobbies also cause problems. 71 per cent responded saying something written in the 'other interests' section of a CV has resulted in candidates being left in the rejected pile.
Tom Hadley, the REC's director of external affairs, commented: "As more employers take interview shortcuts and rely on Internet searches to filter out unsuitable candidates, it's vital that job seekers take their Internet footprint seriously and keep in mind that it could affect their job prospects. Before posting any personal details on the Internet, candidates need to think twice about how an employer might perceive them."
Tread carefully on the Web, or you might regret it
75 per cent claim that personal testimonials (i.e. reputation and word of mouth) are the most important, as negative comments from ex-workers or other people that have known them, may mean that a candidate is excluded from the interview process.
Nevertheless, confirming that traditional recruitment methods are declining, half said that the MySpace/Facebook generation has the potential to reduce the number of candidate placements through a recruitment agency because workers use Internet social networks rather than formal networks to find and apply for jobs.
Our advice to ambitious candidates would be to treat social networking sites with caution and to remember that this public domain is accessible at the touch of a button.
For more information on Web 2.0 job search strategies, contact Lynn Tulip
Lynn Tulip
Career Management Consultant
W. 0870 411411
M. 07801 689801
E. lynn@assessment4potential.com
S. margot121
W. http://www.assessment4potential.com
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