It’s no great surprise that recruiters are using social media to find and screen candidates for the jobs they’re aiming to fill.
What is a surprise, however, is at least one of the ways in which recruiters are using the medium. According to a new study, “Tomorrow’s Workforce“, by recruitment specialist Hays, here’s what NZ recruiters who use social media are looking for:
The surprise amongst those four: that a majority of recruiters are using social media to “find out who a candidate associates with”. Whilst that description can cover a wide range of sins, in our view the finding highlights the importance of ensuring that:
- your connections on LinkedIn are chosen to enhance your career aspirations and demonstrate to a potential employer that you know the right people
- groups that you belong to on LinkedIn also demonstrate a willingness to contribute to, and learn more about, your chosen industry
- any Twitter account linked to you personally is not likely to reflect badly on a potential employer
- your Facebook friends are not at odds with your corporate persona
If you’re not sure how you stack up, go to a social search engine such as Kurrently.com, type in your name (you might need to add “NZ” or a similar qualifier) and see what results you get back. Do the same on Google Search.
If you cringe, it’s time for some drastic unfriending or untagging.