22 Percent Of Employers Screen Applicants Cyber Lives

Ever wondered why you didn't get that job? You had all the skills, experience and education, but just didn't make the cut? Maybe it was because of your online activity!!

One in five hiring manager say that they use social networking sites to research job candidates, with a third of them discounting the candidate after what they have discovered.

Online job site CareerBuilder.com conducted a survey of more than 3000 hiring managers, and were surprised to find that 22 percent of them screened potential staff using social networking profiles. In 2006, this number was just 11 percent.

On top of this number, an additional nine percent said they don't currently use social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace to screen potential employees but they do plan to start.

The survey found that 34 percent of the managers who do screen candidates on the Internet found content that made them drop the candidate from any short list.

Hiring managers that research candidates online, suggest that the biggest reasons for discounting candidates, include postings of inappropriate information, opinions and photographs, as well as any sort of promotion of alcohol or drugs.

Other areas of concern, were using the use of discriminatory remarks related to race, gender or religion, unprofessional user names, as well as poor communication skills and lying about qualifications.

The news was not all that bad however, with 24 percent of hiring managers that research their candidates online, discovering content supporting their decision to hire the applicant.

CareerBuilder.com spokeswoman Rosemary Haefner, said "Hiring managers are using the Internet to get a more well-rounded view of job candidates in terms of their skills, accomplishments and overall fit within the company. As a result, more job seekers are taking action to make their social networking profiles employer-friendly. Sixteen percent of workers who have social networking pages said they modified the content on their profile to convey a more professional image to potential employers.