Facebook costing people jobs in tough economic climate

If getting a job was not hard enough in a tough economic climate, one in 10 young people have been rejected for a job because of their social media profile, according to a survey by On Device Research in London, U.K.

The problem is most acute in China, where 16 per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds and 14 per cent of 25- to 34-year-olds said they have been rejected for a job because of comments or pictures on their online or social media profile. That’s followed by India (10 per cent and seven per cent, respectively), the United Kingdom (nine per cent and six per cent), the United States (eight per cent and seven per cent), Nigeria (eight per cent and five per cent) and Brazil (four per cent and five per cent), found the survey of 6,000 16- to 34-year-olds across six countries.

Yet the majority (two-thirds) of respondents are not concerned their use of social media may harm their future career prospects and are not deterred from using it. The most people deterred are found in Nigeria (29 per cent) followed by India (20 per cent), China (19 per cent), the U.S. and U.K. (17 per cent) and Brazil (11 per cent).

Survey respondents are also more likely to alter their social media presence to look good for friends rather than prospective employers, found the survey.

Facebook is the most popular platform used by respondents, found On Device, with Nigeria (85 per cent) at the top, followed by India (82 per cent), Brazil (73 per cent), the U.K. (72 per cent) and the U.S. (69 per cent).