Online profile checks now common

Keep your internet footprint clean if you want to impress employers for a particular job, say recruiters.
Recruiters and employers are trawling social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to search for inappropriate behaviour before hiring candidates.
A sparkling CV, work experience and referees are no longer enough, with many employers conducting a Google search to get an impression of a candidate.
In America, there are businesses set up exclusively to scour the internet to conduct a social media background check on job candidates.
Tauranga-based recruitment firms confirm the practice is happening here, too.
1st Call recruitment managing director Phill van Syp said social media background checks were now standard practice at the business.
"We definitely check. You can only get the information if the people have made the information public. It's out there, they have put it in the public domain, which is a major concern for any company looking for a good public image.
"You can find out some amazing things what people are up to and what they say. Some things our clients wouldn't be too impressed with."
Mr van Syp said it was rare to find information that would be of real concern to an employer.
But he recalled a case in which a job candidate was found to have posted a message several years previously on a website which ultimately cost her a position.
"[The comment] was in total conflict with the company she was looking to be employed by. It's amazing she even applied for the job when she had such a bad personal opinion of what their company was doing.
"It was in the public domain, it would be easy to find by clients and others. These are the things we have to protect."
Mr van Syp had a policy of full disclosure to clients, but said there was a difference between party photos and having fun, and "opinions that would hurt a company's reputation".
"If you write 'my boss sucks', that's going to affect you in the long run. If you write 'man, I had an awesome doobie on the weekend', a drug test would probably be the first thing we would do.
"It's making sure we give our clients the information they need."
Mr van Syp recently warned high school students of the long-term implications of their online footprint. Many people don't realise the damage they can do to their reputation and future prospects, he said. "You have to be aware of the implications of what can affect you in the long-term. It can stay up for years.
"Always make sure your Facebook, that anything open on the internet is private and you only let certain people get access, otherwise you can miss out on jobs. If you have information out there, employers have a right to look."
Mr van Syp said different companies would have different levels of concern over online activity.
"If you are going to a legal firm and there's photos of you having a drink and a good time, personally that wouldn't worry me too much, but it may worry my clients."
Ross McCurran, senior consultant at Tauranga's Personnel Resources/Temp Resources, said online checks were becoming more common. "Particularly if we have some question marks over a candidate, we might think let's see what we find out elsewhere.
"I think the social media aspect will increasingly become an influencer in the recruitment process.
"Part of that may depend on the generation - Facebook is probably more relevant to the younger ones."
Mr McCurran said information found online could be enough to sow a seed of doubt about a candidate.
"I'm not sure if the younger ones realise how much impact it's having on their careers and potential careers. "The trouble is once it's out there [it's very hard to get rid of]."
Claudia Nelson, owner/operator of Tauranga-based recruitment agency The Right Staff, said while she looked at the LinkedIn profiles of candidates, she did not yet search Facebook.
"[LinkedIn] is a professional profile that someone has put up to deliberately share their professional background. I think it's quite acceptable to look at that.
"I have not personally got to the point where I look at Facebook information, I'm not decided on that.
"If our clients demand that of us we will definitely consider it, it could be that in three to six months we have taken it into our standard process."
But Mrs Nelson warned that even if clients weren't asking them to search candidates online profiles, there was nothing to stop them doing it themselves.
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Max Mason said employers should consider any reliable source of validation before hiring.
"Employment of staff always has a risk factor to it so employers should decide how they may best manage that risk. The choice is theirs and employees nowadays should be aware of the openness of social media."
The chamber advised employment trainees to clean up their social networking sites - such as removing party pictures - before applying for jobs.
"Some people perceive Facebook and other social media as semi-private - but it's not. Police, potential employers, parents, stalkers, they can all access it. I have even heard of Customs screening it.
"The best bit of advice is never have anything out there that puts 'shame to your name', that you can't back up with an explanation or can't delete in a hurry."