Scraps, lies, Videos and shrewd Hr managers

Employers are matching CVs with Orkut/Facebook profiles of applicants to run background checks

Scraps, lies, Videos and shrewd Hr managers

Employers are matching CVs with Orkut/Facebook profiles of applicants to run background checks

With the rise in popularity of online social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, employers have found a completely legal way to look into your personal life

Quickly becoming one of the mot commonly used tools in a background check, these sites are giving hiring manager a good reason to stacks of resumes in the trashcan.

These sites allow employers to see everything from your sexual orientation to the drunk pictures from your last spring break. Since you've posted this information in a public domain, accessible to anyone signed on, you've given them the right to silently discriminate against you based on what they find. Even sleazy videos can eat your job.

A senior official at Manpower, world's leading job consultant, said: "Social networking website are a big rage with most of the young professionals. We always scan the record or check the profile of the candidate before selecting them. Job hunters need to keep in mind that information posted online and could be viewed by potential employers. There are many candidates who do not disclose their details so we take the help of virtual world."

Recruiters, off late, have been using Orkut to put up job advertisements on online communities relating to various organizations. When Satyam fiasco happened various recruiters rushed to the infotech giant's community on Orkut to scout for talent.

"We have a huge database of new recruits. While scanning their applications we make it a point to check scraps, wall posting, photographs, community, groups and testimonies on their Orkut/Facebook profiles," said a senior official at KPMG, who heads the department of Employee Forensics.

"The web postings help us understand the behaviour and hobbies of the people. Most people lie while giving details under these heads in their resume," he said.

"Drunken photos and rude comments are the biggest turn-offs for a recruiter," the KPMG official
pointed out.