While many companies are moving to ban the use of social networking sites like Facebook, some are actually beginning to use these sites as a useful recruitment resource.
A survey conducted by recruiters Crone Corkill & FSS revealed that 7.5pc of employers are using networking sites as an informal part of the referencing process.
This number is expected to rise now that Facebook profiles can be accessed quickly and easily through search engines like Google.
The popularity of social networking sites has soared in recent months. A poll of Crone Corkill’s office support candidates revealed that 86pc used Facebook regularly, and over 75pc of respondents from finance recruiter FSS agreed that Facebook was the site they used the most.
Any extra tool to determine whether the candidate is right for the job is beneficial to recruiters. A social networking profile can give a more personal insight into someone’s character that cannot be portrayed on a CV.
However, some have argued that these online profiles are personal and that companies should not mix the business and private lives of candidates.
Other concerns about this practice include the possibility of researching the wrong person and the problem of comments falsely made in someone’s name.
By John Kennedy
