10 Things You Need to Know About Social Media for Your Job Search

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Employers Say They Don’t Care What You Do Online …

• 93% of employers claim they haven’t rejected a candidate based on their social media presence

• “What people do

outside of work is their own business,” says one employer.

None93%

1-10%6%

11-20%1%

Approximately what percentage of candidates are re-jected on the basis of their social media presence?

… But They Are Looking

• More than a third of recruiters view candidates’ social media profiles during the recruitment process

• 28% admit to “spot checks” on candidates

None; 63%

It is an un-official

spot-check; 28%

It is an offi-cial part of

the re-cruitment

process; 4%

Other; 5%

Q: What role do social media profiles play in the recruitment process?

…And Here’s What They’re Doing

• 74% of employers on LinkedIn use it to source candidates

• “LinkedIn has proven to be our most used social media venue for recruiting candidates,” says one employer.

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter

Research candidates' profes-sional back-grounds

0.489130434782609

0.065934065934066

0.0113636363636364

Assess candidates' social repu-tation

0.141304347826087

0.10989010989011

0.0227272727272728

Research candidates' personal networks

0.206521739130435

0.065934065934066

0.0340909090909091

5%

15%

25%

35%

45%

55%

Job Seekers Should Be Careful

• 86% of employers think candidates should take at least one action to make their profiles more employer-friendly

• Read on for the top actions they recommend

Hide Your Pictures …

• 60% of recruiters think candidates should take steps to hide personal pictures.

• Only 51% of candidates do.

AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

… But Don’t Remove Them

• Only one-third of recruiters think candidates need to go as far as removing or de-tagging pictures

AP Photo/Hermann J. Knippertz

Keep Your Beliefs To Yourself

• 36% of employers think candidates should omit political and/or religious views from profiles

AP Photo/Matt Dunham

Police Your Wall

• 56% of employers believe you should delete objectionable wall posts—even if you didn’t write them.

• 51% think you should make your wall private altogether.

AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy

Use LinkedIn For Your Job Search

• 74% of recruiters are actively using LinkedIn to source new employees.

“The lack of photos of people puking or wearing dumb costumes at some Really Great Party helps keep the professionalism up,” says one candidate.

Check the Policy When You Find a Job

• 48% of employers had a social media policy in 2010, up from 36% in 2009.

• A further 27% have a policy in the works.

AP Photo/Keith Srakocic

About The Survey

• All stats and quotes are from Vault’s 2010 Social Media Survey.

• Approximately 150 companies and 3,500 job seekers in a variety of industries took the survey.

• For more information, contact Brian Dalton: bdalton@vault.com

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