The days of companies doing a simple Google search of a potential employee may be over. You always here that employers will Google your name to see what results they find, such as your Facebook page or you Twitter presence. Companies have now found a way to combine a search where they can catch a glimpse of your personal profile, and search for those employees that match what they are looking for in a recruit. This beats searching around individual sites to see what information is available about you. This is more of a one stop shop for them. A newer company called Connectifier developed a product that uses search technology and machine learning to help assist them along the hiring process. Basically what Connectifier does is they sift through millions of pages of social networks and sites that display your public information, and they build a profile from this data. This is done through the use of many complex algorithms. Millions of profiles have already been developed, and the number continues to grow. Recruitment sites like LinkedIn are starting to follow suit with this new technology. Connectifier is currently raising money to continue to develop this platform and improve it.
What I take away from this article is that you need to be extra aware of what you put out there on the Internet for everyone to see. Yeah you may think you are being funny and you don't think it won't make a difference, but news like this about this search technology makes you double think before you post a potentially offensive tweet or picture. When looking to get into the workforce professors and others always tell you to take what you do on social networks seriously, because there are companies out there that do things like this where they want to see how recruits act based on actions on the Internet. I think this technology is a good option to look at for companies. I don't think it should be a major decider in choosing a recruit, but it should give them a way of learning a more about who they may potentially hire. I think the read they get from you in a face to face interview is much more important, which makes me say these online profiles should not be taken as a major decision factor. They should be used to enhance their understanding of that person. I find it interesting what privacy laws and other acts these companies may run into when using this search technology. It sounds like all the data they are using is public, so it will be at the discretion of the recruit to limit their own personal data. My recommendation would be to go back and update your social profiles to make them more professional looking and appealing to recruiters. Be conscience of what you are doing on social network sites before you decide to post something stupid that may come back to bite you in the you know what. Take what you do seriously, and always be aware of what you are posting.
No comments:
Post a Comment