A New Kind Of Hookup

October 25, 2007--Most people are familiar with social networking Websites like MySpace.com and Match.com. The sites, popular with a range of users—from teenagers looking to make new friends with similar interests to singles searching for soul mates—have become an accessible way to connect to others. Social networking sites also are proving to be a vehicle for employers seeking the right job candidate. Small and large companies alike are using online networking to do research, form relationships, and fill positions. One popular site is LinkedIn.com, a Mountain View, California-based firm that has signed up more than 350 companies to broadcast their job listings to more than 10 million registered users. The business owner looking for a full-time accountant to serve as CFO, for example, can visit a Website like LinkedIn, scroll through posted résumés, peruse an individual's postings, or even check out a competitor's site for potential candidates. Social networking sites are also a good place to do "subtle" background checks, says Brian Drum, president of executive search firm Drum Associates Inc. in New York. "Employers can go to these sites and see what people are saying about themselves," he says. (See "What You Look Like Online," Powerplay, January 2007.) In identifying prospective job candidates for his clients, Drum searches the "free and open information" available on a site like MySpace. He keeps an eye out for anything that might reveal the person's character, or perhaps hinder his or her ability to perform reliably. "Sometimes all we find is meaningless chitchat," says Drum, "but once in a while we'll turn up something useful, like an unflattering picture or a piece of information that really shows what the person is made of." SOURCE OF THIS STORY