One in Five Employers Uses Social Network Sites When Hiring People

From time to time we go through a bout of recruiting, and part of that process is inevitable trying to sort the wheat from the chaff to decide which ones to bring in for a detailed interview. Naturally one of the first things I do when presented with details of a new candidate is to look them up on the web. Obvious things such as a google search for the candidate’s name, looking them up on LinkedIn, facebook etc.

What usually surprises me is how little use most candidates make of this. When applying for work, your name is your brand, and making sure that the best information is easily available to potential employers seems an obvious thing to do, yet so few candidates bother. Instead, the overwhelming impression for most candidates is either that they have practically no internet presence at all, or that their web footprint consists of holiday snaps and mildly embarrassing facebook/twitter chat.

My top tips if you are thinking of looking for a new job.

• Get a web site and put your real name and a brief summary of your skills and abilities on it
• Build your web site into an on-line portfolio with links, copies and examples of everything you are proud of
• Add a blog to your site and write regular articles based on things you know well
• Link to your web site from everywhere you can
• Mention your web site on your CV/resumé

Above all, remember that potential employers will be looking, so make sure you have a say in what they find

One in Five Employers Uses Social Network Sites When Hiring People