Facebook used to screen potential employees!

US - More employers are using social networking sites such as Facebook to screen potential employees, says a new CareerBuilder survey.

Forty-five percent of 2,600 hiring managers report using these networking sites to research job candidates, a huge increase from 22% last year. On top of that, 11% plan to start using these sites for screening.

Out of those that conduct background checks and online searches of job candidates, 29% use Facebook, 26% use LinkedIn and 21% use MySpace. 11% of respondents search blogs, while 7% follow candidates on Twitter.

The industries that screen job candidates via social networking sites or search engines vary; those which are most likely include jobs specialising in technology and sensitive information. For instance, 63% of employers in the information technology industry screen candidates, while 53% in professional and business services do so.

Thirty-five percent of employers report finding content on these social networking sites that caused them not to hire candidates. Some reasons include finding out candidates posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information, bad-mouthed previous employers, co-workers or clients, and lied about their qualifications. Also, 14% of employers have disregarded candidates because they sent a message using an emoticon, while 16% had refused to hire because candidates used text language in an email or job application.

On the flip side, 18% of employers have found content on social networking sites that made them hire candidates. Most commonly, the candidates' profiles provided a good feel of their personality and fit, or their profiles supported their professional qualifications.