If you are looking for a job or are a potential job-seeker, be very careful of what you write or share online because HR departments and recruitment professionals are scanning tweets, blog posts, photos, and other online profiles of job candidates before offering them positions.
Why Online Reputation Management is Important
Around 70% of hiring managers in in US have rejected candidate just because of their online reputation. The chart looks at the various types of online information that have led companies to reject candidates.
Tomorrow is Data Privacy Day and this research (download PPT) was originally commissioned by Microsoft as part of the same initiative.
Other than Microsoft, Google, Intel, AT&T are also part of the Data Privacy Day group. You should also check their site as it contains some excellent resources on how companies, students and parents can better protect their online information.
Find this article at: http://labnol.org/?p=12582
Reader Comments
Creating a good online identity is becoming indispensable today’s world. I far, times are not far away when you have to have a website of your own prior to applying for any job :P
Written by Rishabh Agarwal on 01.27.10
Missing one more. That is Technical Fourms. Easy to figure out the strenth of the candidate by seeing the questions or answers making in Forums.
Written by Dutt on 01.27.10
Hi Amit,
Nice post….!!!
The data above that you have given is for US. Is the same thing true for Indian companies…..???
They (Indian companies) seriously look at our online profile before recruitment or not..?
Written by akhilsethi on 01.28.10
Nice article. I think the trend is going to continue and become a part of background check process for potential employees. Just like how employers conduct background verification in the form of credit check, employment check and public records check, there is going to be a check on candidate’s online presence. Just like credit check, having no online presence doesn’t hurt as bad as having inappropriate online presence.
On a flip side, I think, certain employers (like tech startups, web 2.0 firms) may perceive the lack of online presence of potential employees as negative.
Written by Prasada on 01.29.10
Useful chart, Amit – makes a very simple point, very clearly. I would always take time to get a’snapshot’ of someone’s online presence before interviewing.
I personally think there’s a whole generation that’s going to (is starting to) regret how careless they were as teenagers with what they put on FB and Bebo etc.
Would I recommend giving kids powerful tools capable of publishing permanent content online before they could possibly have developed the awareness necessary for understanding the repercussions?
Nope. But no one asked me… or anyone else for that matter.
Kids, think carefully about the impression of you that all the traces you leave add up to. ;-)
Written by Sam Deeks on 01.31.10