A huge 41% of UK HR professionals have rejected potential job candidates because of information they found out about them online, according to a new study.
But the figure contrasts markedly with the mere 9% of consumers who believe that internet-based data has any impact on their job prospects.
Although such a finding appears to indicate that applicants significantly underestimate the amount of online research that employers undertake nowadays, in reality, a huge 48% of UK respondents said that their companies have formal policies in place requiring them to research the background of applicants online.
Bizarrely, however, it appears that men are nearly twice as likely as women to undertake reputational searches on the internet. A huge 56% of males confessed that they undertook the activity routinely compared with only 32% of females.
As to what information was most likely to turn HR professionals off, top of the list were inappropriate comments and text written by the candidate (57%).
To read the rest of the article you'll need to log in below
If you've forgotten your details click here for a reminder
If you haven't got an account, it's free and only takes a minute to set one up,
click here to register