Screening Social Media

It is important for employers to know what to look for when screening an applicant’s social networking sites. With that in mind, taking advantage of the information that is to follow can greatly improve the chances of finding a good potential employee. Social networking sites like LinkedIn are good to find potential workers representing their strengths for employment (Brown, 2011). A CareerBuilding survey of 2,000 hiring managers stated they screen the following sites of applicants: Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and LinkedIn. The CareerBuilding survey in 2012 states that only 37% of companies utilize social media to decide on whether or not to hire an applicant. From this 37%, employers have mentioned what they are looking for in their applicant’s social networking sites. 65% of employers stated they are looking to see that the applicant represents his or herself professionally. 45% stated they are looking for their applicant’s qualifications. 51% said they wanted to see if the applicant is a “good fit for the company culture”. 35% of the employers said they were looking to see if the applicant is well rounded.  Along with the application, employers look to see if their applicant’s social media posts provide evidence that their application is truthful. Only 12% said they look for a reason not to hire an applicant. This is important information as it shows that employers can find out if their applicants are genuine in their line of work. Through social media, employers will be able to see how well rounded the applicants are and the extent of their creativity. Plus, it is nice to see if the applicants “like” the company’s Facebook page, or to “follow” them on Twitter.