Facebook checking 'a growing trend among employers'
21-08-2007
A growing number of employers are turning to popular social networking websites such as Facebook to get some background information on their employees, finding out a bit about their private lives through the publicly accessible service.
Facebook allows employers to examine potential workers in a non-professional capacity, providing information and details that may be omitted from CVs or not come up in interview.
As such, experts at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) warn that job candidates need to exercise caution in how they present themselves online, in order to avoid jeopardising their career prospects.
"You should always be careful of how you present yourself to the external world," commented Anne Fairweather, REC head of public policy.
A recent REC survey found 86 per cent of employers to agree that candidates should be wary while more than half thought that the use of Facebook would reduce job placements through recruitment agencies.
The UK is one of the top five countries for Facebook subscribers, along with Canada, the US, Norway, South Africa and Australia, according to the Courier Mail.
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