With 'friends' like these... Facebook Firings.

Are you reading this on our Facebook page? Are you reading this work? Are you Facebook friends with your boss? You'd better be careful!

Cases of disputed dismissal because of someone's actions aren't news - they've been happening since the dawn of the Internet. But as social media becomes more & more popular and your network of 'friends' becomes larger & larger, you've really got to be careful of what you say.

Take for instance a recent British Columbia Labour Board's ruling upholding the dismissal of two employees at a car detailing company for making remarks about their boss. The Labour Board found that these comments were creating a negative and hostile work environment and even constituted insubordination.

The catch is that their boss was among their friends who received live status updates - on his mobile phone.

In the US it's a different story because Facebook notices are protected under The First Amendment?

So the moral of the story is, the next time you have a blow-out at work and take out your mobile phone to update your Facebook status, think twice about who's going to read it! Toronto employment lawyer, Daniel Lublin says this is why not to add your manager as a friend.

Employers; Are You Fishing In The Shallow End?

The Globe & Mail published an article today that describes 'passive candidates' and their extreme value to employers & recruiters. At CMS we've known this for years and built our reputation as one of Canada's top recruiters by doing just this.

The article makes strong points in saying that relying on your job postings means you are just fishing out of the shallow end of the pool, where there aren't many fish. As an employer you want to do much more than this to hire key positions (or any positions!) so leave it in the hands of experts and engage us in your next search.

Visit our Specialized Recruitment or Executive Search Pages for a stronger sense of what we can do for you and then get in touch with us for a one on one consultation.

For employees too, this article gives a few great ideas on how to get noticed and the powers of a passive candidate. Of course, the best first step is to get in touch with us with a resume or CV - this way you'll appear on our internal searches whenever we get a new position to fill.

The double edged sword of social networking - how to use it & how to lose it!

There's no doubt that Facebook, Twitter and a myriad of other social networking sites have changed the world - this is no less true when you look at your job-hunt.

As this article points out, some countries are trying to prevent employers from screening potential candidates through social networking sites, but a recent Careerbuilder survey sites as many as 45% of hiring professionals use these sites to screen out candidates - or at least research their potential candidates.

The article contains several great tip on how to use (and how not to use) social networking to your favor in a job-hunt.