Employers are turning to social networking sites including MySpace and Facebook to filter out unsuitable candidates, according to a report by the Recruitment Employment Confederation (REC).
A total of 298 recruitment consultants were quizzed as part of the survey, which looked at how Web 2.0 is affecting recruitment.
It found that leaving an internet footprint could damage recruitment chances and encourage employers to discriminate on the grounds of race, sexual orientation or religion.
The survey also showed that a whopping 86 per cent say candidates should think twice before putting certain information online for fear of it affecting their chances of employment.
Tom Hadley, the REC's director of external affairs, commented: "As more employers take interview shortcuts and rely on internet searches to filter out unsuitable candidates, it's vital that job seekers take their internet footprint seriously and keep in mind that it could affect their job prospects.
