This article reports on a phenomenographic investigation into practitioners' conceptions of ethical practice in social networking in career services. The results show that ethical practice was conceived as stemming from: (1) an information orientation, (2) a networking orientation, (3) an educational orientation, and (4) a collaborative orientation. Differences appeared along six dimensions including: approach, activities, level of usage, perception, strategy and ethical principles. The findings give us a more profound understanding of critical aspects that may have an important role in relation to further developments and the successful implementation of existing and emerging technologies in the career service sector.