( July 29, 2007 ) - Some of today’s savviest job seekers are using social media outlets such as MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn to get their foot in the door and become the top candidate in a search. But just as using these sites can help a search they can just as quickly harm one. Adecco, the world leader in workforce solutions, offers insights for job seekers on how to leverage the web for a successful job hunt, while also preventing social media sites from hindering the search.

"Because social media and online job searching components are now part of the norm, candidates need to know how to benefit from the use of these tools in order to be successful in their search,” says Bernadette Kenny, Chief Career Officer at Adecco. “A job seeker’s personal posts on social media outlets, as well as their overall ‘persona’ on the Internet can harm their hunt for the perfect job – or they can turn it around and use these same tools to help them land a great position.”

Increasingly, employers are scouring the web and conducting instant background checks – most commonly by using Google to search an individual’s name. Interestingly, in a recent Adecco Workplace Insights survey, 66 percent of Generation Y respondents were not aware that seemingly private photos, comments and statements were audited by potential employers. While over half of the respondents to the same survey do not feel that it is fair for the information they have online about themselves to be a factor in the hiring process, it is now part of the norm.

The Internet is the first stop for many recruiters and hiring managers to determine if a potential candidate is a good fit. Ensuring their search turns up positive information is the responsibility of candidates.

Using Social Media to Your Advantage: Tips from Adecco

• Protect your online persona. For those with profiles on social network sites, don’t post anything that you wouldn’t want a prospective employer to see. This includes derogatory comments, revealing or risqué photos, foul language and lewd jokes. And keep tabs on what the Internet has to say abut you. Do a Google search, and if there are items that would be unflattering to a potential employer, contact the web page’s controller to try to have it removed.

• Create a positive virtual presence. Starting a blog on a topic in your industry helps you be seen as a thought leader. It defines you as an expert and can be instrumental in building relationships with others in your field who may be hiring or know others who are hiring.

• Build relationships. Use sites like LinkedIn to connect to a network of professionals with similar interests and skills. Use MySpace and Facebook to your advantage. Once you delete the unprofessional photos and language, post a bulletin to your “friends” about your job search – they can let you know about openings at their companies and can even pass your resume along for you.

A recent Adecco white paper, Job Hunting in the Digital Age, further outlines how job seekers can best utilize the growing number of social media sites to their advantage while preventing those sites, and the information about themselves on the Internet, from harming their search. The findings and recommendations in this white paper are based upon primary research and Adecco’s expertise and experience in the market. To receive a copy of this report, contact Cynthia Greenberg at 212-880-5379 or cynthia.greenberg@ogilvypr.com.