Google, HR, and Getting Hired

Earlier this week I tweeted this statistic from an article on ERE.net …

“According to a study conducted by Microsoft earlier this year, 70% of surveyed HR professionals in U.S. (41% in the UK) have rejected a candidate based on online reputation information”

It elicited an interesting exchange with one of my tweeps. Here’s what he said …

–Cindy, seriously are HR folks incapable getting relevant info on their own?

–The reality is it's the wrong use of Social Media – if that's your only use.

–My point was there many pro-active uses for social media rather than HR Sherlock Holms (sic) work.

Here’s the reality … at least according to Cindy’s web worldview. 

Social media allows, maybe even subtly deceives, people to let down their guard. Have you seen some of the pictures people upload, the foul language that fill their tweets and Facebook posts, even the use of poor grammar and misspelled words? The fact is, these things speak volumes about prospective candidates that will never come through in the spit and polished interview process. 

Google, Web 2.0, and reputation management are here to stay. Whether you are a Chief Financial Officer, finance executive, accountant, or new finance grad, what Google says about you matters to prospective companies. And if Google is mute about you, that sends its own very loud message.