Social network warning over employee job hunting

More and more offers of second interviews are being retracted as employers carry out referencing checks, according to an industry expert.

Rob Scott, managing director of sales recruitment specialists Aaron Wallis, said that a recent study of 961 human resource managers found that a third searched for information on prospective employees on websites such as Facebook and MySpace.

"The famous example from a couple of years back was the retraction of a job offer for a city lawyer who boasted on his blog that he did nothing at his work but shop on the internet, pick up a six-figure salary and regularly partake in recreational pharmaceuticals," said Mr Scott.

He advised that sales job hunters might want to start their search by clearing any naked, drunk or inappropriate photos from their social network profiles, together with anything that does not show them to be an upstanding member of the community.

Earlier this year, Kimberley Swann, 16, was sacked from her job at Ivell Marketing & Logistics after posting comments about how boring her job was on Facebook.

Ms Swann did not put the company's name into her comments but when her boss saw them, she was called into his office and fired on the spot.

For some of the most comprehensive and unique CV advice and tips visit the career tools section of www.aaronwallis.co.uk. Stacked with hints, tips and advice the Aaron Wallis career tools section is one of the largest resources available to sales candidates. Aaron Wallis is a leading sales recruitment agency.

By John Oak

Filed: 23-10-2009