John Robinson, managing director of technical, engineering, scientific and commercial recruiter Scantec Personnel, says that as social networking sites become more popular it is in danger of becoming a double-edged sword for candidates.

“Social networking sites such as LinkedIn are now becoming an excellent source for finding good candidates,” he said. “So it is absolutely vital workers and job seekers ensure that their profiles are as professional and as impressive as possible. Failure to properly present your ‘social CV’ could damage your job-hunting prospects. Social networking sites are enabling recruiters to access a much larger pool of talent, therefore the jobs market is becoming even more competitive.”

“I cannot stress enough to people that once they commit a picture or a comment to the internet it is there for all to see,” he said. “You may think it’s only your friends and family reading your Twitter comments or watching your YouTube video. But be in no doubt recruiters and employers are checking candidates’ online behaviour to assess their suitability and judgement. The message very much is: be as professional as possible with your social networking or it could come back to haunt you and undermine your career.”