If you’re not on social media, you could be missing out on a new employment opportunity.
Indeed, avoiding a professional online presence may be hurting your chances of finding a new job. More than one-third of employers (35 percent) say they are less likely to interview job candidates if they are unable to find information about that person online, according to an annual social media recruitment survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder, a global leader in human capital solutions.
The national CareerBuilder survey includes a representative sample of more than 2,000 full-time, U.S. hiring and human resources managers across company sizes and industries—including health care.
Social media recruitment on the rise
Fifty-two percent of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates, up significantly from 43 percent last year and 39 percent in 2013.
“Researching candidates via social media and other online sources has transformed from an emerging trend to a staple of online recruitment,” says Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder. “In a competitive job market, recruiters are looking for all the information they can find that might help them make decisions. Rather than go off the grid, job seekers should make their professional persona visible online, and ensure any information that could dissuade prospective employers is made private or removed.”
Haefner points out that most recruiters aren’t intentionally looking for negatives. Six in 10 (60 percent), in fact, are “looking for information that supports their qualifications for the job,” according to the survey. For some occupations, this could include a professional portfolio. Fifty-six percent of recruiters want to see if the candidate has a professional online persona, 37 percent want to see what other people are posting about the candidate, and 21 percent admit they’re looking for reasons not to hire the candidate.
Additionally, 51 percent of hiring managers use search engines to research candidates.
Social media recruitment by industry
Hiring managers in information technology and financial services are the most likely to use social networks to screen candidates; retail has the lowest share.
- Information Technology: 76 percent
- Financial Services: 64 percent
- Sales: 61 percent
- Professional & Business Services: 54 percent
- Manufacturing: 49 percent
- Health Care: 49 percent
- Retail: 46 percent
Hiring managers sending friend requests
Thirty-five percent of employers who screen via social networks have requested to “be a friend” or follow candidates who have private accounts. Of that group, 80 percent say they’ve been granted permission.
Content can help and hurt job prospects
Depending on what hiring managers find, candidates’ online information can help or hurt their odds of getting a job. Forty-eight percent of hiring managers who screen candidates via social networks say they’ve found information that caused them not to hire a candidate – down slightly from 51 percent last year. The following are the top pieces of content that turned off employers:
- Provocative or inappropriate photographs – 46 percent
- Information about candidate drinking or using drugs – 40 percent
- Candidate bad-mouthed previous company or fellow employee – 34 percent
- Poor communication skills – 30 percent
- Discriminatory comments related to race, religion, gender, etc. – 29 percent
About one-third (32 percent), however, found information that caused them to hire a candidate, including:
- Candidate’s background information supported job qualifications – 42 percent
- Candidate’s personality came across as good fit with company culture – 38 percent
- Candidate’s site conveyed a professional image – 38 percent
- Candidate had great communication skills – 37 percent
- Candidate was creative – 36 percent
Script flipped
A separate survey finds that some savvy job seekers are using social media to their own benefit. One in seven (15 percent) workers check out hiring managers on social media, with 38 percent of that group seeking to directly interact with the individual.
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