70% of Employers Looking at Job Applicant Social Media Accounts

61% looking for information that supports the candidate's knowledge and skills for the job

• 50% are looking to see if you have a good professional online presence

• 37% are looking to see what other people say about you

• 24% are looking for any reason at all, NOT to hire you

At the same time, more than half (54%) of the recruiters said they found information on job applicants’ social media accounts that caused them not to make a job offer such as the following:

• Candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photographs, videos or information: 39%

• Candidate posted information about them drinking or using drugs: 38%

• Candidate had discriminatory comments related to race, gender or religion: 32%

• Candidate bad-mouthed their previous company or fellow employee: 30%

• Candidate lied about qualifications: 27%

• Candidate had poor communication skills: 27%

• Candidate was linked to criminal behavior: 26%

• Candidate shared confidential information from previous employers: 23%

• Candidate's screen name was unprofessional: 22%

• Candidate lied about an absence: 17%

• Candidate posted too frequently: 17%

There’s no question that for all the benefits that job applicants have with using social media in the job search, there are some other challenges that come with no longer being anonymous. Today it is not just your resume, cover letter and job interview. It is also about how you represent yourself on social media account that could get recruiters to either not extend or rescind a job offer. Recruiters are doing everything they can to find the right candidate for vacancies and, for now, looking at job applicant social media accounts is one way they are doing that.