this wall street journal article discusses how linkedin and other social media sites are utilized in the hiring process. according to dan schawbel, personal branding expert and author of “me 2.0: build a powerful brand to achieve career success”, many people are still discovering how to navigate online for job searching and networking. many are unsure of what is appropriate and what is not. however, experts such as schawbel recommend not to be intimidated by uncertainty, but to act wisely and carefully. meanwhile, it is commonplace for companies to embed social networking sites into their hiring process as a recruitment tool for new talent and as screening sites for potential employees. these sites are primarily utilized to ensure a candidates integrity, behavior and to pre-select. schawbel explains that in the future, a person’s “online brand” will be included into the majority of hiring decisions because the information is so easily accessible and provides a first impression of a job candidate. although not all companies have integrated such sources of information into their hiring process, the number is growing steadily. for example, careerbuilder.com reports that 45% of companies were using social-networking sites to screen potential employees, up from 22% in 2008. according to a linkedin spokesperson, not only technology companies use online resources, but firms across all industries…
