Source: eGrabber Newsletters

A recent survey titled "Background Screening - Top Technology Trends 2009" said that 1 in 5 employers use social networking sites to make a hiring decision. The trends indicate a considerable, if not major, shift in focus to using non traditional sources - social networks, forums and blogs - for background screening.

Here is a simple Google search script that will help you research people's profiles on LinkedIn, MySpace, ZoomInfo, etc.

Candidate Name site:xyz.com

For example, to search for Chandra Bodapati's (Founder & CEO of eGrabber) profile on LinkedIn, the script will be

Chandra Bodapati site:linkedin.com

Similarly you can use zoominfo.com, myspace.com, friendster.com and more.