Social networking sites 'unreliable for jobseeker information'

By John Oak

Recruiters should not consider a social networking site as a reliable source of information about candidates, it has been claimed.

Dan Hawes, co-founder of the Graduate Recruitment Bureau, commented that those who use the technology should be aware that what they put on their site is public information.

"In terms of recruiters using it, I wouldn't say it was that reliable. I wouldn't use it as a recruitment tool at all, it's just people's curiosity gets the better of them," he added.

Mr Hawes went on to say it is short-sighted for businesses to use the technology as a recruiting tool, stating that they should stick to the tried and tested method of interviewing someone and make a decision on that and their CV.

According to the Office for National Statistics' employment figures, released earlier this month, the employment rate for people of working age was 74.1 per cent for the three months to January 2009, down 0.1 per cent from the previous month and 0.7 per cent over the year.

Aaron Wallis are a Milton Keynes Sales Recruitment agency with a unique service offering that includes 12 months rebate. Psychometric profiling and online skills testing are also included within a fixed recruitment price.

Filed: 30-03-2009