I was both pleased and horrified by the news that some employers are using Twitter and Facebook to recruit staff.

I'm pleased because companies are finally catching on to the importance of social media - and sites like Facebook are getting the respect they deserve as excellent communication tools.

I'm horrified because it's unfair on normal, everyday job-hunters to have to clean up their social media usage to gain employment. Blogs and sites such as LinkedIn are available for those people wishing to promote themselves on the internet.

When it comes to individuals, Twitter and Facebook should be about family, friends and fun, so it doesn't surprise me that 70% of graduates who took part in a recent survey said they didn't want employers using these sites to recruit them.

I think, however, it's important to remember you can always make your Facebook account private and that your Twitter account can be under a pseudonym – just in case employers decide to take a peek.

Read more on Personnel Today's website

I'm going to spend a good part of the weekend, in the back of my mind, pondering about the damaged image of recruitment agencies after the Office of Fair Trading dished out fines of £39.3m two six agencies for price fixing.

When something like this happens, it makes other recruitment agencies shudder and wonder how long it will be until we reach the depths of loathing currently suffered by estate agents. Searching for a new job, like buying a house, is a very personal and stressful journey. You need to feel supported, not as if the rug will be pulled from underneath you at any point. You want to know that, if you're the best person for the job, you'll get the job, not expecting to be "gazumped" at the last minute.

Read more on the OFT's website

If you've been looking for a new job for 12 months, you could feel that you've exhausted all the job opportunities around you, especially in the current climate where redundancies are being made and many companies aren't recruiting.

In this situation, consider re-visiting earlier applications and contacts. If people stay in a job for five years, then one in 10 people will have moved job in the last six months.

Jobs that were full 12 months ago could now be available. Or the person in a position to recruit you could have changed.

Large companies often downsize in a downturn, but smaller and medium sized companies often recruit proportionately more in a recession.

It's very tempting, when you've got one or two job opportunities at an advanced stage, to stop looking.

With any opportunity, there are other job seekers in the queue, hoping the job will be theirs.

Typically, companies interview about five or six candidates for each job. Even if you're at second interview stage, that still means you have at least one competitor for the job.

I'm not saying don't feel good about getting this far – you're entitled to pat yourself on the back for doing everything right – but what you can't do is assume you've got one of the jobs in the bag.

All it takes is a "no" or two and you're back to square one.

In the current climate, there is strong competition for every job. And recruitment freezes can happen in the middle of the recruitment process, so that "sure thing" might suddenly disappear.

My advice is to carry on job hunting until you have a new contract signed.