The era of the Facebook faux pas is over

Six years after the launch of the social networking giant, has the job-seeking public finally caught on to the fact that employers check the social networking pages of their potential hires?

Over the past year, only 0.01% of candidates whose CVs impressed potential employers failed to secure job opportunities due to questionable social networking profiles. This compares to 0.1% in 2006.

Six years ago, we saw the first social-networking slip-ups from candidates. They rose to a crescendo in 2006 when the use of sites like Facebook exploded in popularity – but people still hadn’t figured out quite how sensitive some of their information could be. Fortunately, the job market at the time meant a lot of candidates who made these mistakes got away with it. Although employers deal with Facebook faux pas more harshly now, most people have wised up. The era of the recruitment Facebook faux pas is effectively over.

This year, only 3 out of 24,000 candidates whose CVs impressed future employers made a Facebook faux pas. This compares to 23 out of 24,000 in 2006, when the Facebook faux pas hit its peak. 

Most finance and accountancy professionals on the job market are now aware of the dangers posed by social networking websites. They know photographs that cast them in an unprofessional light should be made private – or deleted altogether. They know that derogatory comments about their existing boss won’t go down well with their next employer. But less obvious things – such as poor writing, spelling and grammar – can also raise red flags over a candidate’s name. Once an employer has clocked something dodgy on a profile, they have to decide if they are willing to take a chance or not. In a candidate-rich market such as this, the answer is usually ‘not’.

Effectively, the Facebook check has become the equivalent of a first interview. Once a potential employer has seen your CV, the next stage is to check the net.

Yet Facebook doesn’t always have to be detrimental in recruitment situations. Used correctly, Facebook can highlight qualities or interests that might not come up in a job interview.  As people seem to be learning, it’s about building a personal brand, not destroying it.

Facebook is a very effective way of keeping in touch with family and friends. Used correctly, it can also give a future employer a more ‘rounded view’ of who you are.  But used incorrectly – i.e. not having the right privacy settings – well, you can insert your own inappropriate nightmare scenario here.

In late 2009, an American investment bank in London turned down an excellent candidate after checking his Facebook profile. His potential employer saw he’d joined a number of ‘inappropriate’ groups.  As a result, he didn’t make it through for a second interview.

Although the era of the Facebook faux pas appears to be over, it may only be temporary. Facebook’s privacy settings are ever changing; finance and accountancy candidates need to keep a close watch on what material is made public.


Dave Way is the Managing Director for Marks Sattin and has worked with accounting and finance recruiter for over ten years. He has recruited for many of the company’s largest clients, including Air Products, MTV Europe and Discovery Channel.

Accountants and the credit crunch

Two years on from the onset of the credit crunch, and it’s fair to say that accountants have taken a good deal of the flack. But where has the recession left the profession?

While the picture is somewhat different today than it was when we were heading towards Christmas two years ago, uncertainty still reigns. Before the credit crunch, accountants generally knew their value to a business. Now they’re not so sure and there’s more of a feeling that like any other employee or director, accountants have to sing for their supper.

Accountants have even developed a more animalistic streak in the office. They have become competitive towards their colleagues in the interests of self-preservation, increasingly playing the office politics game to avoid the chop. Those in commerce and industry have had to justify their positions more than ever before – as do those practising in the public sector. And there’s now more of a fear of carrying the can; there’s a sense of ‘live by the sword, die by the sword’ should things go wrong. I’m not saying that’s necessarily incorrect, just offering my view on how life has changed for the profession.

In some people’s minds accountants are viewed with the same disdain currently being levelled at bankers, politicians and even estate agents. Perhaps some are culpable because they failed to uncover and act upon substantial losses (particularly in the banking sector). Two years ago, the banking sector was rocked to its core, resulting in an immediate and almost terminal decline in transactional activity; this has continued until as recently as the last few months. However, from where I sit, we are now seeing a significant increase in vacancies in the banking and financial services sector. Businesses are working hard to ensure they have the right infrastructure in place to make a fast ascent on the upward curve (accountants with experience in compliance, risk and regulation, take note). And this doesn’t just apply to the UK – we’re seeing the effect in our offices around the world.

Whether out of a ‘do-good’ mentality or out of the need to put bread on the table, it also appears that the recession has appealed to the altruist in us. We are seeing accountants deserting traditional roles in commerce and industry for the public or not-for-profit sectors. There’s been an unprecedented rise in applications for these roles against 2007 figures. Why, I hear you ask? Well, some people are now looking for more job security, others have been forced out of the private sector by redundancy and some have been headhunted into the big not-for-profit jobs. However, for many it’s a lifestyle choice and they just want to ‘do some good’. Whatever the motivation, both accountant and employer will benefit. The accountant will often command a similar salary, have increased job satisfaction and perhaps be under less pressure; the organisation will get an accountant who knows the commercial ropes, has a diverse portfolio of skills and who is, in many senses, thoroughly ‘job ready’.

So, that’s the past two years – what about the next two? (Well, it is the time of year for predictions)! It will certainly be interesting to see how the role of the accountant will change. New patterns are emerging and employers’ needs and expectations are changing. Cashflow forecasting, budgeting, risk management and internal audit are today’s ‘hot’ skills, as is the ability to take a genuinely strategic view of the business. Canny business leaders are now looking for accountants made of the ‘right stuff’ – the sort of stuff that will help bring their businesses out of recession.

For those looking for their next move – whether they’re currently employed or not - the wheels should start spinning again as we move towards 2010. I believe that businesses will start to look for their ‘right stuff’ as they invest for the upturn. So, pecker up – things are moving in the right direction once again.


Dave Way, Managing Director, WH Marks Sattin