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If you’re a social networking freak like me, chances are you have probably created a profile in almost all social networking sites that have come out since the explosion of this web 2.0 phenomenon. And chances are again, you may have not updated those profiles since ages ago. But who cares, nobody minds it anyway. Ops, actually not true, as according to a study by CareerBuilder.com, employers are turning to social networking sites to check on job candidates.

You may think of it as an incredolous idea. Why would a serious stuff such as finding a job be correlated with the not-so-serious social networking activities? Well, you better start taking social networking sites more seriously now. As it may dictate your future employment as well.

The survey was conducted by CareerBuilder.com to some 31,000 employers. And the study also noted that one-third of those hiring managers who used social networks to check on job candidates, found information on such sites that made them reject job candidates. Aw, that certainly hurts!

In addition, the study also revealed that there were already 22% of employers who are checking on job candidates’ online behavior on social networking sites, and 9% more are looking into the possibility of doing the same thing.

The more reason that you should start building your online reputation and amending your social networking profiles. And how could you do that exactly? CareerBuilder.com has this tips on building up your social networking profiles to make it more appealing to job employers:

  • Remove pictures, content and links that can send the wrong message to potential employers.
  • Update social networking profiles regularly to highlight latest accomplishments.
  • Consider blocking comments to avoid questionable posts; avoid joining groups whose names could turn off potential employers.
  • Consider setting profile to private so only designated friends can view it

And here’s our additional tips for building up your social networking reputation:

  • Change you social networking profile’s photos – use a more professional looking photo of yourself rathern than those silly and wacky shots you’ve taken at the beach
  • If you’ve got your social networking profiles set to public mode, avoid posting photos of your wild adventures. If you’re a party animal, just keep the photos to your private viewing. Last thing you want to show the world, or prospective job employers is your photo licking some girl’s neck while taking a shot of tequila.
  • If your social networking profile contains blog posts, make sure that you’re writing proficiently and in a normal way. Avoid using explicit words, as your job employer might take it against you.
  • Read back on your social networking profile and examine whether everything that you put there are truthful as possible. Job employers might take it to mean that you’re a great programmer wherein fact the best thing that you can do is play video games.
  • Avoid putting confidential information about your previous employers. Or if you have a bad experience with previous employers, might as well don’t put it in your social networking profiles anymore. What your job employer doesn’t know about you – won’t hurt your chances of landing your dream job.

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