Recruiters research potential employees

13:30 17th October 2008

IT professionals should be wary of their online presence as close to 90 per cent of executive recruiters use the internet to research potential candidates, a new survey has revealed.

The poll of top executive head-hunters, carried out by the careers website Experteer.co.uk, underlined the impact IT is having on recruitment with 86 per cent of those surveyed admitting to researching job-seekers online.

Bad news coverage concerning candidates was uncovered by 51 per cent of respondents; the consequences of which led to 49 per cent of those questioned to reconsider whether to progress them to an interview.

Torsten Muth, UK managing director at Experteer, said: "The nature of recruitment is evolving rapidly. It is important that senior executives seeking fresh pastures ensure their online persona matches their carefully crafted CV."

Earlier this month, the research analyst IDC revealed that IT security fears are stifling business innovation at 80 per cent of firms worldwide.