Questions for Human Resources Management

A 2014 CareerBuilder.com survey reported that more than 43% of employers search social networking sites to screen job candidates. Of these hiring managers who research on social networking/media, 33% found content on social networking sites that helped them to hire the candidate in question. However 51% admit that the information found on social media led them to not hire the candidate for the job.  And employers aren't limiting themselves to social networks - 45% of employers use search engines such as Google to research candidates.

Some more scary statistics: Fifty-five percent of recruiters look at Facebook profiles and updates, and 47 percent are checking out Twitter accounts. Thirteen percent of recruiters even look at what you're doing on Instagram! 

Here are the questions to be answered for this week's conference, after considering the above:

1. If you are an employer, what are the potential risks of searching for information over the Internet?

2. If your employer asked for your help in developing a "web search screening" policy, what advice would you give?

3. Google yourself - are there any results? Did you find anything interesting or surprising- please share.