By Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder
A decade ago, job searching was still a fairly neat, straightforward process. A job seeker applied for a position and was asked in for an interview, references were checked, and an offer was extended. The proliferation of social media over the past several years has added a layer of complexity to the hiring process, creating more virtual hoops for job seekers to jump through before hearing, “you’re hired.”
Besides the websites specifically geared toward professional networking, most people use social networks for personal reasons – connecting with friends and family, sharing photos, and gathering and disseminating interesting information. However, while job seekers may view their postings as personal, any public profile is fair game for employers, who increasingly use these sites to gauge whether a candidate will be the right fit for their organization.
In fact, according to a new CareerBuilder survey, 43 percent of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates, up from 39 percent last year and 36 percent in 2012. Based on the survey, this trend shows no sign of slowing: 12 percent of employers don’t currently research candidates on social media but plan to start.