“WORRYING” TREND AS CARELESS GRADUATES MISS OUT ON JOBS
Graduates are missing out on jobs because they are failing to adjust their privacy settings on Facebook, new research has found.
A new survey by Hays recruitment agency found that only just over half (55%) of those surveyed cleaned up their social media profiles and changed their privacy settings while job-hunting.
More than a third (36%) made no changes to profiles or posts, as they didn’t think employers would check. And only one in ten said they edited content or untagged photos of themselves during their search.
Mark Sheldon, regional managing director of recruitment specialists Hays said it was “worrying” that young jobseekers do not realise the damages social media profiles can cause on their chances of getting a job. He said:
“While no employer should make a hiring decision based entirely on what they see online, it’s now extremely easy for an employer to find out an incredible amount of personal detail about you with just a quick search.
“Making sure your private profiles stay that way will avoid distracting an employer from anything other than the task at hand of assessing your suitability for the job.”
Graduate Fog has reported previously that graduates do not think that Facebook is an appropriate platform for recruiters to connect with them about jobs. But it seems that too many graduates have not twigged that employers are using the site to suss out whether they are a suitable candidate for the job.
*Should employers be banned from spying on candidates via Facebook?
Is your profile ready for inspection? Do you know anyone who’s been rejected for a job because of something incriminating online? Has your university careers service warned you to check your settings when applying for jobs?
I always search prospective employees out on social networking sites! It is good to see who I am employing and their personality, that they will not be fully displaying during the interview process!
I wouldn’t take the survey by Hays too seriously. I don’t think they are a reliable source of information. I was recruited for a job by them that was totally unsuitable for me, although they insisted I could do the job. It turned out that I was expected to have a certain level of experience in one area and because I didn’t, I struggled in the job and was dismissed after just one month. Thank you Hays!
@Jamie, agreed, that makes sense. Though I do hope the employers ,take it with a slight, pinch of salt, as your online profile is not always what you are like. It is the photos that have been tagged by friends that are the issue, you can remove your own stuff, but it is more difficult for photos from friends, at least to change who can view them!
Jamie’s post is a classic example of why graduates (or anyone) should be careful when posting on Facebook. Employers have always wanted to control and shape their employees personalities and behaviour both in and out of work, so it is of course both natural and unsurprising that they should want to spy on people through Facebook. They have no business doing so, so shut them out!! Either that, or go freelance and control your own destiny!
Adding to Robin’s post. My work has recently released a social networking policy which basically means if thy find out you are saying anything about the company they can terminate you or in worse case even prosecute you.
I do not want to control my employees out of work. In sales however, it is actually good to see a wild picture (not too wild!!) as it shows you have a bit of personality which may not immediately come across. If I am not completely sure I will have a glance through their Facebook or Twitter and you can tell if it is someone who you will want to work with. Will fit into the team or if they will do well in sales.
As a side note, not so long ago I was one of these out of work graduates. Tanya even interviewed me for an article. I was lucky to get a break and am now in a position of being able to hire in the space of about 3-4 years.
They really can’t prosecute you whatever their policy unless you leak confidential information which is already illegal. Defamation is a pretty grey area so they’d have trouble, though can be cause for termination. Again though, you could pretty easily fight it for some serious cash especially if your profile is set to private.
I don’t think defamation IS a grey area. Defamation is “any published statements which are alleged to defame a named or identifiable individual (or individuals) in a manner which causes them loss in their trade or profession, or causes a reasonable person to think worse of him, her or them”.
Let’s not forget that companies are legal persons who can be defamed.