HR
More than a third looks up prospective employees’ online profiles. Among technology companies, some 38% will now check the social media profiles of prospective employees,
According to a new survey from Eurocom Worldwide and in association with Irish agency Simpson Financial and Technology PR."Job seekers may be happy for their LinkedIn profile to be viewed by a prospective employer but are they comfortable with what's posted on their Facebook profile?" commented Ronnie Simpson, Simpson FT PR. "They may be comfortable that their own privacy settings are locked down tight but what about the career suitability and accessibility of photos or other personal information posted on friends' sites?"
The survey reports that technology firms examine social media profiles to determine potential employees' suitability for a job. "Social media is a great way to network and build career opportunities but it is becoming more difficult to differentiate between your professional and personal persona on the web," added Simpson.
The survey was carried out among 660 senior level executives in technology companies, including 5% from Ireland and was conducted during January and February 2011.
The survey also highlights corporate usage of social media, showing that 36% of technology firms have any formal process in place, other than a Google alert, for tracking what is being said about their company on the Web.
"The first phase of implementing a social media campaign is to listen to and monitor what is being said about your company and its service or product online," commented Mads Christensen, network director, Eurocom Worldwide. "The majority of firms are either failing to do this or are not doing it in a very rigorous manner."
There appears to have been no growth in corporate blogging over the last two years with the proportion of technology companies surveyed having a blog remaining flat at around one third. The main reason cited for corporate blogging is to improve interaction with the public and customers, followed by raising profile and thought leadership, and boosting search engine optimisation (SEO).
The survey found that the main barriers to corporate blogging are that "it is too time consuming" (33%), followed by "don't see the value of it" (29%) and "never thought about it" (18%).
"Such is the value of corporate blogging from a search perspective alone that it is a little surprising that only a third of technology firms do it," said Simpson. "However, blogging does require a significant time commitment so companies are better not to do it at all than do it badly or infrequently."
Despite a mixed reaction to blogging, half (51%) of firms surveyed have a Facebook page, 46% have a corporate Twitter account, 43% are on LinkedIn and 36% have a YouTube presence. Of the total, 38% expect to increase their spend on social media over the next 12 months.
In terms of activity, just over a quarter (26%) of respondents' companies Tweet daily and just over one in five (21%) update their Facebook page each day.
Among technology companies, some 38% will now check the social media profiles of prospective employees, according to a new survey from Eurocom Worldwide and in association with Irish agency Simpson Financial and Technology PR.
"Job seekers may be happy for their LinkedIn profile to be viewed by a prospective employer but are they comfortable with what's posted on their Facebook profile?" commented Ronnie Simpson, Simpson FT PR. "They may be comfortable that their own privacy settings are locked down tight but what about the career suitability and accessibility of photos or other personal information posted on friends' sites?"
The survey reports that technology firms examine social media profiles to determine potential employees' suitability for a job. "Social media is a great way to network and build career opportunities but it is becoming more difficult to differentiate between your professional and personal persona on the web," added Simpson.
The survey was carried out among 660 senior level executives in technology companies, including 5% from Ireland and was conducted during January and February 2011.
The survey also highlights corporate usage of social media, showing that 36% of technology firms have any formal process in place, other than a Google alert, for tracking what is being said about their company on the Web.
"The first phase of implementing a social media campaign is to listen to and monitor what is being said about your company and its service or product online," commented Mads Christensen, network director, Eurocom Worldwide. "The majority of firms are either failing to do this or are not doing it in a very rigorous manner."
There appears to have been no growth in corporate blogging over the last two years with the proportion of technology companies surveyed having a blog remaining flat at around one third. The main reason cited for corporate blogging is to improve interaction with the public and customers, followed by raising profile and thought leadership, and boosting search engine optimisation (SEO).
The survey found that the main barriers to corporate blogging are that "it is too time consuming" (33%), followed by "don't see the value of it" (29%) and "never thought about it" (18%).
"Such is the value of corporate blogging from a search perspective alone that it is a little surprising that only a third of technology firms do it," said Simpson. "However, blogging does require a significant time commitment so companies are better not to do it at all than do it badly or infrequently."
Despite a mixed reaction to blogging, half (51%) of firms surveyed have a Facebook page, 46% have a corporate Twitter account, 43% are on LinkedIn and 36% have a YouTube presence. Of the total, 38% expect to increase their spend on social media over the next 12 months.
In terms of activity, just over a quarter (26%) of respondents' companies Tweet daily and just over one in five (21%) update their Facebook page each day.
By Niall Kitson from TechCentral.ie.