From pictures of people mooning the camera to smoking marijuana Boris Epstein, an employee recruitment expert, said many social media users sabotage their potential to be hired by using networking tools inappropriately.
“A rule I find helpful is just keep it PG-13, and if you wouldn’t say it in front of your grandmother, don’t say it on social media outlets,” said Epstein, founder and CEO of BINC, a professional recruiting company.
Currently, 45 percent of employers use social media to screen potential employees, according to a study released by CareerBuilder.com in August. This means that recent college graduates and potential employees need to learn to be smart about the information they post online, Epstein said.
More than 2,600 hiring managers took part in the study, according to CareerBuilder, which indicated a jump in the number of employers using social media sites in the hiring process from 2008 to 2009, from 22 to 45 percent.
Of those who don’t use social media in the hiring process, 11 percent plan to start using it, according to the study.
“Some people take the standpoint that you should be yourself on social media, and others say you should be completely filtered, but I think it’s better to be somewhere in the middle,” Epstein said.
In the CareerBuilder study, 35 percent of employers had found content on a candidate’s social media profile that caused them not to hire that person, and 53 percent of those cited provocative or inappropriate photographs or information as the reason.
The state of California is currently dealing with court cases asking whether employers are discriminating against candidates because of how they portray themselves through social media, Epstein said, which may lead to legislation concerning how employers can use social media to screen potential employees.
Social media users need to be aware that despite possible legislation, potential employers will still look at their social media sites and take them into consideration, he said.
“Regardless of what the law says, people will still look,” he said.
Epstein said he has seen employers not hire candidates based on how they portray themselves through social media.
“A candidate bashed her previous employer on her blog, and the [new] employer decided not to hire her because of the potential that she could turn around and do the same to them,” he said.
In the CareerBuilder study, 35 percent of the employers that reported finding content on a candidate’s social media site that caused them not to hire them, did so because the candidate bad-mouthed his or her previous employer, co-workers or clients using social media.
Still, social media sites can be great tools if they are used correctly, Epstein said.
Allison Nawoj, corporate communications manager for CareerBuilder, said social media Web sites are a great way for potential employers to get a better image of the candidates they are considering.
“As more and more people use social media in general, the more employers will be comfortable with using it as a candidate-screening tool,” Nawoj said. “People need to be aware of their privacy settings … if they would not like employers to be able to access [their accounts].”
A benefit of social media sites to employees, she said, is that in some cases employers will learn positive things about candidates that they couldn’t learn during a brief interview.
According to the study, 18 percent of employers have found information on a candidate’s social media site that directly led to hiring the candidate.
Shimara Mizell, senior human resources specialist at ASU, said the University does not have any rules set in place when it comes to using social media in the hiring process.
“The only thing I can say is that there is always the possibility [that employers will look at social media sites],” she said.
No one at the ASU is told to use social media in screening potential employees, Mizell said, but they aren’t told not to either.
David Bodney, partner at Steptoe and Johnson LLP, an international law firm, said the use of social media is an exciting development.
People need to be aware that when they participate in online social networking, the information they post becomes an open book, Bodney said.
“Social media users need to consider all the potential audiences and consequences of what they post online,” he said. “Assume that anything posted online is something that could be viewed by the last person on Earth you would hope to see it.”
If only because of the forward button, this rule should also be followed when sending e-mails or any other online communication, Bodney said.
“Think twice,” he said, “And pause before pushing enter or the send keys.”
Employers should be allowed to use social media to screen potential employees, Bodney said, as long as they follow reasonable guidelines when making decisions about whether or not to hire a candidate.
“There needs to be something in writing about how the information [from social media sites] can be used,” he said.
Reach the reporter at paige.soucie@asu.edu
