Employers Prefer Facebook over LinkedIn when Researching Job Candidates

More and more employers are looking online for information on job applicants and increasingly to social networks. In fact, almost one in every two companies is scanning the social networks when hiring. But the surprising part is that Facebook is actually preferred over LinkedIn, which is much more professional-centric than the former, as a new study by research firm Harris Interactive shows.

The study, commissioned by CareerBuilder.com, which actually launched its own career-centric social network, BrightFuse.com, surveyed over 2,667 human resources professionals on their use of online resources when looking at perspective employees. It found that 45 percent of them used social networking sites to research applicants, more than double the 22 percent that were using these methods just one year ago. What's more, a further 11 percent are planning to implement similar screening in the future.

LinkedIn has always been seen as an “online resume” and as a professional social network was in fact second favored after Facebook. Twenty-nine percent of those surveyed used Facebook to do background checks on the applicants while only 26 percent used LinkedIn. MySpace was used by only 21 percent of the HR professionals. It's not just social networking profiles that come under scrutiny, blogs were also used by 11 percent of those looking for additional information online, while 7 percent also looked at the candidates' Twitter profiles.

Not that it should be any surprise to anyone at this point, but what users post on social networks or anywhere else online could have a big impact on job applications and it looks like 35 percent of employers didn't hire a candidate based on what the latter posted online. Provocative or inappropriate photos or content was the biggest issue and was the reason they passed on the applicant in 53 percent of the cases. Other reasons include photos or posts about the candidate drinking or using drugs – 44 percent, criticizing former employees or co-workers – 35 percent, or even using emoticons in 7 percent of the cases.

"Social networking is a great way to make connections with potential job opportunities and promote your personal brand across the Internet," Rosemary Haefner, vice president of Human Resources at CareerBuilder, said. "Make sure you are using this resource to your advantage by conveying a professional image and underscoring your qualifications."