Careers Slideshow:
Facebook Activities Haunting Job Seekers

• CareerBuilder interviewed 2,600 hiring managers. Of those, 45 percent reported using social networking sites to research job candidates. That's more than double last year's results.
• IT was the industry most likely to screen candidates via social networking sites, with 63 percent of IT hiring managers spying on candidates. That's followed by 53 percent of professional and business services hiring managers.
• Approximately 35 percent of potential employers found eyebrow-raising content that caused them to pass up on a candidate.
• The top reason for second-guessing a job candidate was that the person posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information, with 53 percent of disappointed hiring managers citing this point.
• Also tops on the negative list were candidates who posted content about them drinking or using drugs (44 percent cited) and candidates who bad-mouth their previous employer, co-workers or clients (35 percent cited).
• Another interesting effect of the social networking trend is the growing prevalence of internet slang and emoticons in business communication. Fourteen percent of employers have disregarded candidates because they sent a message using an emoticon during the hiring process.
• Nevertheless, savvy users of social networking can actually improve their prospects with HR--18 percent of those surveyed said they found content on social networking sites that caused them to hire a candidate.
• The most cited positive factor was that the profile showed the candidate's personality fit within the organization (50 percent cited).
• Other top positives were that profiles supported a candidate's professional qualification claims (39 percent cited) and that they showcased a candidate's creativity (38 percent).