One fifth of job candidates ‘stalk’ their interviewer’s social media

JOB-HUNTERS are frequently warned about the potential ill effects of social media upon job applications, but new research by online marketing specialists, Digimax, reveals that it goes both ways – with 22 percent of candidates confessing to checking out their interviewers on social media.

While it’s hardly surprising to learn that 68 percent of people looking for work now utilise social media to find vacancies, with LinkedIn being the favourite social media recruitment method, candidates are also using social sites to prepare before their interviews, with almost a quarter (24 percent) using social media sites to find common interests to discuss and curry favour during interviews. A further 18 percent say that they use social media to check out the interviewer’s work background, while almost half (48 percent) use it for general interview prep.