Nearly half of US employers research the online profiles of job candidates on social networks such as Facebook, MySpace or LinkedIn, according to a new survey.

Forty-five percent of the employers surveyed for CareerBuilder.com, the largest US online job site, said they use social networking sites to check on job candidates, up from just 22 percent in a survey conducted last year.

Another 11 percent said they plan to start using social networking sites for screening.

"As social networking grows increasingly pervasive¹, more employers are utilizing² these sites to screen potential employees," CareerBuilder said in a statement.

It said job seekers should "be mindful of the information they post online."

CareerBuilder said that of those who conduct online searches as background checks on job candidates, 29 percent use Facebook, 26 percent use LinkedIn and 21 percent use MySpace.

Eleven percent search blogs while seven percent follow candidates on micro-blogging service Twitter.

Thirty-five percent of those surveyed said they have found content on a social network that caused them not to hire a candidate, CareerBuilder said.

Examples included "provocative⁴ or inappropriate photographs or information" or content about drinking or using drugs.

Other reasons cited were badmouthing a previous employer, co-workers or clients, poor communication skills, making discriminatory comments, lying about qualifications or sharing confidential⁵ information from a previous employer.

Information found on social networking profiles was not always a negative factor in finding a job.

Eighteen percent of employers said they have found content on social networking sites that caused them to hire the candidate, CareerBuilder said.

Some profiles "provided a good feel for the candidate’s personality" or supported their professional qualifications while others demonstrated creativity or solid communication skills.

Rosemary Haefner, vice³ president of human resources at CareerBuilder, recommended that candidates "clean up digital dirt" before beginning a job search by removing photos, content and links which could hurt their chances.

The survey of 2,667 hiring managers and human resource professionals was conducted by Harris Interactive⁶ between May 22 and June 10. It has a sampling error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.

一项最新调查显示，美国近一半的雇主会上Facebook、MySpace或LinkedIn这样的社交网站搜索应聘者的在线资料。

这项为美国最大的求职网站CareerBuilder.com开展的调查显示，45%的受访雇主称他们通过社交网站来查看求职者的信息，这一比例较之去年的22%有所提高。

另有11%的雇主称他们打算开始使用社交网站来筛选人才。

CareerBuilder网站在一份声明中说：“由于社交网站日趋流行，如今越来越多的雇主使用这些网站来筛选潜在雇员。”

声明称，求职者应“注意他们贴在网上的个人资料”。

CareerBuilder网站称，在那些通过网络核查职位候选人背景的雇主中，有29%的人使用Facebook，26%的人使用LinkedIn，21%使用MySpace。

11%的雇主进行博客搜索，7%的人在微型博客网站Twitter上对职位候选人进行跟踪。

CareerBuilder网站说，在受访雇主中，有35%的人说他们在社交网站中发现过一些导致他们决定不雇佣某个候选人的内容。

这样的例子包括“挑衅或不雅的照片或信息”，或是一些有关酗酒或吸毒的内容。

其他一些被列举的原因包括恶意攻击前雇主、同事或客户，拙劣的交流技巧，发表歧视性言论，谎报资质或是泄露从前雇主那得知的机密信息等等。

但雇主从社交网络上了解的信息并不总是这么消极。

CareerBuilder 网站称，18%的雇主说他们在社交网站上发现过让他们决定雇佣某位应聘者的内容。

一些（候选人）的个人资料“让人对他们的个性产生好感”或是证明了他们的专业资质，而另外一些信息则显示出了候选人的创造性或良好的沟通技巧。

CareerBuilder网站人力资源部副总监罗丝玛丽•海弗娜建议求职者在开始找工作之前先“清理网上垃圾”，删除可能影响他们就业机会的照片、内容和链接。

这项对2667名招聘经理和人力专员的调查由哈里斯互动调查公司开展，于5月22日至6月10之间进行。该调查的抽样误差为正负1.9个百分点。

Vocabulary:

profile: an outline of an object 概况

be mindful of: 留心；注意

micro-blogging: 微型博客

bad-mouth: 苛刻批评