The biggest concern: Users of social networking sites are primarily Caucasians age 20-40. For example, on LinkedIn, only 4% of users are African-American, and just 2% are Hispanic, according to the latest data from Quantcast.

As with all social networking sites, usage declines in older demographics.

Recruiting on those sites can cause problems, says attorney Pamela Devata in Workforce, because it could have a disparate impact on groups without a large social networking presence.

That may be especially true with LinkedIn, which lets users create online connections with people they know. They can then find other people by seeing their contacts’ contacts, their contacts’ contacts’ contacts, etc.

The problem is, finding candidates that way could leave HR with a very homogeneous group.

What’s the danger?

Not all HR experts have the same concern about social networking. As many of those who’ve commented on the story point out, the same complaints can be made about a lot of traditional recruiting strategies. For example, most newspaper readers are white, so therefore recruiting via classified ads could have a disparate impact.

The same goes for referrals, a time-tested hiring strategy. In 2004, an employer was sued by a group of minority applicants who claimed the company’s referral practices were biased.

Nearly all new hires were referred by current employees. Nearly all of the referred applicants were white. The company tried having the case tossed on the grounds that it was just choosing from the applicant pool made available. But the judge refused, ruling that hiring only through referrals had a disparate impact on some groups of applicants (Cite: EEOC v. Caril Buddig & Co.).

Use a variety of sources

So is recruiting through social networking sites really dangerous? It could be.

But probably not much more than some other recruiting methods. The best solution is to find applicants in a variety of places to get a diverse candidate pool.

What do you think? Is recruiting on Facebook, LinkedIn and other sites likely to lead to legal problems for companies? Is the strategy worth the risk? Let us know in the comments section below.

While the president was speaking to high school students in Arlington, VA, a 9th-grader asked him for some tips on how to become the Commander in Chief.

“First of all,” Obama answered, “I want everybody here to be careful about what you post on Facebook,” because “it will be pulled up again later somewhere in your life.”

A lot of job candidates probably wish they’d heard and followed that advice. According to a recent CareerBuilder survey, 35% of managers say they’ve turned down someone for a job because of what they found on social networking Web sites.

No, according to one recent survey.

In fact, 43% of employers don’t use social networking to recruit and have no interest in starting, according to a recent poll by Smartbrief on Workforce. Another 29% haven’t tried, but are interested. Finally, 11% say they’ve tried, but haven’t seen any good results.

Just 17% of companies have successfully recruited through Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

What about you? Have you used those sites to attract new employees? If so, was it worth it? Let us know in the comments section below.

To apply to work for the city of Bozeman, Montana, candidates are asked to list “any and all” Web sites, chat rooms and social networking groups they belong to (“including but not limited to Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.”) — along with their usernames and passwords.

Many hiring managers Google applicants’ names or look for them on Facebook, but actually wanting to log in to their personal profiles is something new entirely.

Why does the city want that access? According to city attorney Greg Sullivan, it’s “to make sure the people that we hire have the highest moral character and are a good fit for the city,” The Consumerist reports.

Sullivan also said the city doesn’t look at “the things that the federal Constitution lists as protected things” (whatever that means).

The story has drawn a lot of attention, especially considering there’s a debate going on about whether hiring managers should even look at candidates’ profiles, let alone obtain log-in information.

Do you think any employer has the right to ask for usernames and passwords from applicants? Should social networking profiles play any role in the background check process at all?

Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Most are spending more time on social networking sites and less money on job boards like CareerBuilder and Monster, according to a recent survey by Jobvite, a recruiting software provider.

Of the 440 HR pros who responded, 72% said their company will invest more in recruiting through social networks this year. Meanwhile, more than half expect to spend less on job boards.

What online tools are getting the most use? The most popular social networks for recruiters and HR pros:

• Linkedin (used by 80% of those who responded)
• Twitter (42%)
• Facebook (36%)
• Jobster (17%)
• Myspace (13%).

Other traditional, low-cost methods are getting more attention in this economy as well — for example, 68% of companies said they plan to increase the use of employee referrals.

Regular, old-fashioned networking.

A recent survey by AfterCollege.com asked recent graduates to pick the job-searching methods they found to be most effective. The top two options were searching job boards and applying directly through a company’s Web site, followed by various types of networking, such as:

• talking to someone who works at an employer of interest
• attending a job fair, and
• talking to friends or family members.

Other preferred methods include asking professors for help, looking at ads in a newspaper and attending information sessions at a school.

Last on the list: using social networking sites like Facebook or LinkedIn, with only 11% of users finding them to be effective job searching tools.

What does it mean? While companies have been able to find employees through social networking sites, like any recruiting tools, they need to be used in conjunction with other strategies. Focusing too much on one avenue, especially a brand new one, limits the audience you can reach.

A recent survey suggests it’s the latter.

Twitter is a site that allows users to post short “micro-blogs” to be read either by a group of contacts or the general public. While largely used for people to keep tabs on what friends are up to, many organizations have signed up for the free service to spread news about products or job openings.

Savvy recruiters and HR pros are also searching through the site’s user profiles to actively locate potential employees.

The strategy is catching on, if this recent survey of businesses in the U.K. is any indication:

About 17% of small employers are using Twitter to recruit and market, says British wireless provider O2.

And 62% of them say it’s helping save money. More than 15% estimate they’ve saved up to $7,000 since signing up for Twitter. A third said they’ve saved about $1,500.

Has your company tried using Twitter to recruit? Had any success? Share your experiences in the comments section below.

Social networking Web sites.

Many HR managers think social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn are the new tool most likely to lead to better quality hires, according to a recent survey by PBP Media and Standout Jobs.

When asked which new trend will provide the best improvement to their recruiting process, the HR managers surveyed answered:

• social networking (33%)
• candidate relationship management tools (26%)
• search engine optimization for job listings (20%)
• blogs (5%)
• online video (5%)
• Twitter (2%)
• pay-per-click advertising (2%), and
• other (7%)

One other recruiting tool more companies are relying on this year: their current employees.

When asked where they plan to increase spending and focus in 2009, the top two responses: 22% of HR managers said referral programs, and 17% said internal transfers.

The social networking Web site: LinkedIn.

The number of visitors to the site in January increased by 22% over the previous month, according to recent data from comScore, a firm that measures Web traffic. The amount of time all users spent on the site in January was double the number from December.

The probable reason: The large number of recently unemployed people have flocked to the site looking for employment opportunities.

What it means to HR: If you still have jobs to fill, you can likely find many qualified candidates on LinkedIn.

The fastest growing population on Facebook: professional adults, according to O’Reilly Media.

Since September 2008, the number of Facebook users between the ages of 35 and 44 went up by 51%. Users age 45-54 increased by 47%, and by 26% for those 26-34.

Many of those users are logging on specifically for job-seeking purposes. As the site begins to attract huge numbers of people from all generations, it could be a great resource for HR and recruiting pros.