Social Neworking sites should not be used to make recruitment decisions

Social networking sites can provide a wealth of information to recruiters, but the temptation should be tempered with the fact that a lot of the information on these sites can be potentially discriminatory, sensitive or simply untrue. Jobseekers agree, as can be seen in the article that appeared in Recruiter magazine. Read on...

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Most jobseekers do not think employers should judge candidates on their personal social media profile, according to research from MyJobGroup.

The research, carried out in conjunction with EPRU (Efficiency and Productivity Research Unit) at the University of Leicester, shows 37% strongly agree that employers should not judge candidates by their social media footprint and just 4.8% strongly disagreeing.

The research also shows 37% strongly agreed potential employers should not look at social media profiles, prior to interview with 4.8% strongly disagreeing.

Meanwhile, 31% would consider taking further action if they were declined for an interview or job due to their social media profile.

Research finds that Linkedin profiles are more accurate than CVs

Candidates are often more honest in their LinkedIn profiles than in the CVs they send employers. At least that’s what LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman said at the Social Recruiting Summit held recently at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, CA. I suppose that this makes quite a bit of sense, if you consider that a LinkedIn profile can been seen by thousands of people who know the applicant and can expose any lies or exaggerations.

HR and screening staff should always look at discrepancies between CVs and online claims, but in addition they should also look at discrepancies between an applicant's CV and what they state on their screening/application form. We have found cases where the screening form was accurate and truthful, but did not bare any semblance with the CV on the basis of which the applicant was interviewed and made an offer.