Influence of Social Networking in the Job Market

Today we all have some sort of networking site. Whether it be Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, or other types of blogs and social communication sites. But do we ever really think about how this could effect us in the future?

An article, on emarketer.com, shows a survey conducted by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder.com showing us how having these interavtive social sites could either hurt or help you in the professional world. So many people post comments, pictures, videos, and other things on these sites to share with family and friends. The survey conducted showed the percentage of US Human Resources Professionals who use social networking sites to research job candidates. You will be happy to know the majority, 44 percent, of them currently do not research people in that way and have no plans on doing it in the future. (See graph below to get exact percentages.)

It would be interesting to know how many of these people that are doing the hiring actually have a social network of their own.

It would be horrible to have not gotten a job because the employer saw some pictures of you in your swimsuit or acting like an immature person on these sites. The article also shows specific reasons for why an employer did not hire a person because of these sites. After viewing the persons social network, the US Humans Resources Professionals disregarded job candidates for different reasons. The reason most people didn't get hired for the position was because the job candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information (at 53 percent). (Exact percentages below.)

Another part of the article did show the benefits of having a social network. The professionals may have saw the person in a more positive way and gave them a better idea of the persons personality. The network could have also showed a creative side to the person or great comments made

about that person from other people. I think this is interesting because when going to a job interview you may feel more tense and scared to be yourself. But your social network may help you look more fun and outgoing, and that could be something the employer didn't see in your interview.

Having a social network is not a bad thing. But I do think people need to be more careful of how they protray themselves on the internet. When you are seriously looking for a career job it might be a good idea to fix your privacy settings on your Facebook or Myspace.