Employers Reject Lots of Jobs Candidates Based on Social Media: Believable or Bogus?

by SodaHead News Posted 2011/10/05 22:45:13

Related Topics: Honest, Drinking, Media, Photos, Social Media, Candidates, Candidate, Survey, Photo, 90 Percent

204 votes
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	Believable	180 votes	88%
	Bogus	24 votes	12%

Breaking news: social media is important in getting a job! No, but really, now they did a survey about it, so it's got to be legit, right? Reppler, a start-up company that just so happens to be in the business of cleaning your social networking accounts from job-hurting material, surveyed 300 professionals who handle new hires at their companies. And what exactly did they find?

Well, about 90 percent of the employers said they used social media to screen potential employees (uh, duh. That's why you spent all of Sunday deleting those questionable photos from Saturday night, right?) But the more interesting news is that about 70 percent of employers actually rejected job candidates based on their social media accounts.

Yikes. We gotta take this stuff more seriously.

But what's perhaps most surprising is what these job candidates were most rejected over. It wasn't inappropriate photos (11 percent) or talk of them drinking (9 percent). It was lying about their qualifications, at 13 percent. We guess it pays to be honest.

But let's end all this job talk on a happy note, shall we? The survey also found that about 70 percent of employers reported accepting job applicants based on their social media presences. See? There is a silver lining!

Add a comment above

Liz.Marie07 2011/10/06 07:43:40

Believable

+9
My Dad always makes sure to lecture me on what I am posting to Facebook. "You know anyone can get a hold of those comments and a lot of people read them, better watch what you say......" My parents are always right ;)
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Ray the Dog! 2011/10/06 16:25:45

Believable

+3
Seems to me that if there is a shortage of jobs AND a surfeit of candidates for those jobs, that employers will use every 'tool'at their disposal to pick what they consider to be the very best candidates. It's known as "The law of Supply and Demand"!!!!

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bob 2011/10/06 16:16:44

Believable

yep the world has changed and still remained the same

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yodler66 2011/10/06 15:38:07

Believable

Duh!
and as for scrubbing your profile.... once it's out there there is no removing it, it can be cached in a million different accounts!
Thank G-D they didn't have this when I was younger...

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Horace 2011/10/06 15:32:25

Believable

+1
Anything you put on social media is there for all the world to see, no matter what security you think is in place, not just for your company but for its potential clients as well, don't put anything up that you can't explain away at a job interview.

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Gil 2011/10/06 15:27:43

Believable

My company does, It is information that is free and 8 out of ten times accurate. If the applicant does not clean up after themselves, what will they do in regards to their employer?

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coach k 2011/10/06 14:56:19

Believable

+1
people believe everthing the see on tv or on the net

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Sass 2011/10/06 14:05:08

Bogus

Do you really believe employers have that much time on their hands?

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Diana to Sass 2011/10/06 18:45:36

+1
Believe it or not they do, I've had friends get into trouble over stuff on facebook and their not even friends with their boss.

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Wahvlvke 2011/10/06 12:54:46

Believable

It will not be a problem if you stay off the sites.

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Arizona1950 2011/10/06 12:48:12 (edited)

Believable

We are living in an age of Fast and Furious ... thinking and investigating takes way too much time. Especially when you are in the position of judging someone else to a standard one thinks necessary.

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harley oldman 2011/10/06 12:35:03

Believable

+1
Social Media is NOT the place to Confess. (See your Priest... :) )

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shadowcat_2 2011/10/06 12:31:17

Believable

ANY Excuse to ditch non-malleable people.

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Gimmedap 2011/10/06 10:22:08

Believable

+3
I'm one of them. (it's company directed people, not MY decision)

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cmdrbnd007 2011/10/06 09:17:38

Believable

+3
Absolutely believable. That's why you need to be so very cautious of what you post on any social network. Remember, what ever you put out on the web can never be taken back. It is there for all time.

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Heisenberg 2011/10/06 08:56:20 (edited)

Believable

+3
I have seen it with my own eyes.

I better untag those embarrassing images now.

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Liz.Marie07 2011/10/06 07:43:40

Believable

+9
My Dad always makes sure to lecture me on what I am posting to Facebook. "You know anyone can get a hold of those comments and a lot of people read them, better watch what you say......" My parents are always right ;)

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me to Liz.Mar... 2011/10/06 18:12:42

+2
Your parents are totally right. I told my kids the same...and I added its unfortunate but people judge you by the way you look , act etc. So showing up for an interview in jeans and a sweatshirt might be your right but it won't get you a job. Acting like an idiot and posting it to FB is the same. You have every right to do it...don't expect it to put you in a favorable light. Kudos to your parents!

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Liz.Mar... to me 2011/10/07 03:28:35 (edited)

+1
I couldn't agree more! I will pass on the kudos to my parents :)

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sally 2011/10/06 06:31:46

Believable

+3
I would not hire these people.

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Chuck to sally 2011/10/06 14:34:56 (edited)

For Liz Marie, this is one of those times that your parents were wrong. Personal opinion, of course; but I don't think a parent should ever tell their child to be careful of what you say, (the exceptions being, constantly swearing, for no good reason, or name calling for no good reason, etc.) simply because, everyone should know and believe that we were created with a mind and a mouth and we should ALWAYS FEEL FREE TO VERSE OUR OPINIONS AND VIEWS ABOUT ANYTHING. DAMN THE CONSEQUENCES. THAT is our freedom!

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sally to Chuck 2011/10/06 23:17:28

Okay I didn't understand what your point was.

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Bob Uncle to sally 2011/10/07 10:02:00

"OMG I HATE MY JOB", funny but what was with "Matt" and "Andrew" there? Those both seemed rather mundane.

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sally to Bob Uncle 2011/10/08 02:32:35

I didn't read half of these, I just assumed that they were bad because they came from failbook.

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MyPaperBleedsInk 2011/10/06 05:48:15

Believable

Always a good idea to make your facebook profile private.

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TheCaptive 2011/10/06 05:18:56

Believable

+3
A lot of them will look you up based on an e-mail address. You should always have an e-mail for facebook and one for work. Also, putting a nickname or not putting your real name as your facebook name is good.
Or the best prevention method, is to not post dumb ass things on FaceBook.

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jason 2011/10/06 03:40:58

Believable

I'd have to say at a professional or semi professional level that might in fact be true, but for the rest, not so much. I dont so much see a potential employee of Kohl's or WalMart being looked at so closely.

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zebsmom 2011/10/06 03:33:59

Believable

Seen it. A viable mayoral candidate in my town went down in flames because of his my space page. It wasn't even him...it was the comments of his friends that did him in. The thought was that "if these are the people he surrounds himself with, do we want him as mayor?" I know quite a few employers who check social networking sites regularly-not only for people they are thinking of hiring, but for current employees as well.

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Old Abe 2011/10/06 03:28:38

Believable

+5
As a small business owner... I think people portray themselves more honestly on Facebook than they would on a resume... I can say that if I found things that were truly disturbing on FB, I would not hire the person.

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fisherman 2011/10/06 03:23:09

Believable

+1
BUT...american industry was really successful 30 years ago when the guy that did the hiring and firing did not have a computer to screen potental workers . now these h.r. types use social media instead of asking "can you do the job"? and now we got 10% unemployment and companies either failing or running off to china . then the question becomes ,do these a-holes use the same screening method in china or when cheap mexican labor walks thru the door .

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Diana to fisherman 2011/10/06 18:57:46

+1
The use of facebook is more about character check than a "can you do the job check." Imagine wanting to hire someone to be a spokesperson for your company (random example) and he or she continually posted questionable material on facebook. You would most likely think twice about that candidate. There is such a high demand for jobs and not enough to go around at least companies are undertsanding that they need to get lean and mean in these economic times. Why waste company dollars to train a screw off when you can get the best candidate? How many people would tell an HR rep that he or she was overly dramatic and will come into work late more often than not due to a hangover?

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fisherman to Diana 2011/10/06 19:46:52

alright thats 2011 ...how was best candidate chosen in 1970 ? if say someone that never owned a computer and was a total wackoff but knew the job inside and out ...what then ? all i am saying there is alot more to hiring a qualified candidate than just their posts on facebook . what i used to do is if i needed two people i would hire four and then cull out the weak ones . it may not be the lean and mean attitude thats all the rage today but it worked for me . and if you are in industry where there are more openings than applicants you cant afford these new age hiring practices .

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Diana to fisherman 2011/10/07 14:32:13

+1
There was a time where only a handshake was needed to "sign" a contract. Times have changed along with people, as a result companies must also transform.

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twhiting9275 2011/10/06 02:31:44

Believable

+1
Totally believable.
People expect that their actions won't catch up with them, and act irresponsibly. Employers want responsibility. Sorry, your actions WILL come back to haunt you

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rusty 2011/10/06 02:31:26

Believable

If you feel computer skills are important enough to mention on your resume, chances are computer skills are important. Chances are HR people have computer skills too.

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Charles... to rusty 2011/10/06 06:36:48 (edited)

And - "chances are", most people are like me - - - - keep it clean and low-profile on social networks! ;) R u 1 rusty?

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NatAlex23 2011/10/06 02:30:34

Believable

I have a friend who's sole job is to hack into other people's social networking profiles to see if they have anything that looks bad. It takes him about 10 seconds to be able to view a profile with the strictest privacy settings. Yes, it's illegal. No, you won't find out they did it. No, you won't have enough evidence for the police to be able to get a warrant.

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StanK 2011/10/06 02:30:28

Believable

+2
Uh yeah, why wouldn't you check up on those sites? They show what the person is really like. Plus, never put something on the Internet if you don't want it to be seen. Only a moron wouldn't run a quick Google check on a potential employee to see what they might learn.

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zebsmom to StanK 2011/10/06 03:36:09

Definitely! I do it for prospective dates too. LOL.

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V~POTL~PWCM~JLA 2011/10/06 02:28:58

Believable

+2
I have seen some really stupid things on social media. If nothing else, its a showcase of bad spelling and grammar.

Another easy way to get bounced is a criminal record, bad credit, or a tendency to sue. Some state government websites have all of this online.

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Suzy 2011/10/06 02:23:12

Bogus

I find it hard to believe. Maybe in a few lines of work, but generally speaking, no.

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