I found this chart (from The Atlantic) drawn from a survey of employers very interesting. I’m not surprised that not all employers use social networking sites to screen their candidates but the 10 reasons why these companies decided to reject the candidates are very interesting.

Incase the image is too small to read, here are the 10 reason why some companies rejected candidates based on what they found posted on social networking sites:

1. 11% – posted inappropriate photos
2. 11% – posted inappropriate comments
3. 9% – posted content about them drinking
4. 10% – posted content about them using drugs
5. 11% – posted negative comments about a previous employer
6. 11% – demonstrated poor communication skills
7. 10% – made discriminatory comments
8. 13% – lied about their qualifications
9. 7% – shared confidential information from a previous employer
10. 7% – never rejected a candidate because of information on a social networking site

At the End of the Day

People need to be very careful with what they post online. Your friends and family are not the only ones looking at your public information. What you say, how you say it and every photo that you are tagged in gives a stranger a lot of information about what kind of person they think you are. Sometimes someones Facebook page is an employers first introduction to the candidate before deciding to invite them for an interview. What kind of first impression do you think your making with your online presence?

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