The job market – never judge a book by its cover

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CVs only tell part of a person’s story so employers are increasingly relying on social media and internet search engines to supplement their knowledge of a candidate they are thinking of interviewing or hiring. But is social media a blessing or a curse when it comes to job hunting and recruiting?

Social media certainly makes life easier for an interviewer or hiring manager, as you can check out your prospective employee at the touch of a key. However, it also means we can ‘intrude’ into people’s lives in a voyeuristic way – which is somewhat strange if, like me, you grew up in the 70s, but not remotely strange for today’s generation. They don’t see it as an intrusion, but perhaps they do need to be better informed about how to use social media to help – rather than hinder them – in their working lives.

As a hirer, picture the scene: a CV lands on your desk for a quantitative ...