NYIT Library Blog

Do you have a Facebook, Myspace, or other social network profile? If so, heed this warning and in the future proceed with due caution. A new national survey recently revealed that 1 in 5 hiring managers are looking at social profiles prior to engaging employees. In effect, employers have shifted their use of social networking sites from advertising to finding out about people by including Facebook and other networks in background checks during the hiring process:

Could your future boss be perusing your profile? Twenty-two percent of hiring managers said they use social networking sites to research job candidates, up from 11 percent in 2006, according to a nationwide survey of more than 3,100 employers from CareerBuilder.com. An additional 9 percent said they don’t currently use social networking sites to screen potential employees, but plan to start. Link

Reading the above, I think it’s important to keep in mind that this holds true not only for full time employment, but also for internships. For advice on how to manage your online identity you might begin by reading Selena Dehne’s “Will Your Social Networking Profile Get You Hired or Fired?”

Image source: xkcd