Employers snoop on candidates

12:43 12th September 2008

One in five employers look at social networking information on potential applicants, a new survey has revealed.

The poll, conducted by the recruitment site careerbuilder.com, surveyed 3,000 people and found that 20 per cent of respondents had looked up a candidate's social networking profile in order to determine whether or not to hire them.

In addition, the survey discovered that 34 per cent of those questioned said that they had found information which led them to no longer consider the applicant for that position.

The most frequently listed reasons for eliminating candidates were the use of drugs or drink and the posting of photographs deemed inappropriate.

The recruitment site suggests that job-seekers update their networking profiles regularly, tending to comments and removing friend or group links which may portray a negative image.

Earlier this week, an ntl: Telewest Business study revealed that parents see the value of Web 2.0 technology in the classroom but teachers are less certain.

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