Social media antics hit job hopes

The warnings signs have been there for all to see but the danger of posting drunken antics, saucy party snaps or profanities on Facebook and Twitter has been confirmed in a new study which shows two-thirds of UK recruiters have rejected candidates after checking their profiles on social media.
However, a professional looking LinkedIn profile can make all the difference, with 88% of candidates recruited on LinkedIn, 25% on Facebook and 8% on Twitter.
The survey of more than 7,000 recruitment companies, HR managers and recruiters in the UK by Oilandgaspeople.com highlights the importance for prospective job candidates to get not just their CVs, but their profiles right. A third of recruiters said they found candidates on industry-based job boards, but traditional print ad job advertising had fallen in popularity, with 63% of recruiters saying social media was now considered to be more effective.
Kevin Forbes, chief executive of Oilandgaspeople.com – which, as it infers, recruits candidates for the oil and gas industry – said: “Social media is now a powerful recruitment tool for getting the right person in position faster and cheaper than traditional forms of advertising.”
According to the survey, 77% of recruiters felt that social media provided them with better access to candidates and 41% said it gave them better insight into whether candidates were suitable.