A recent survey reveals that personal material or details on an individual found on the Internet could encourage employers to discriminate on the grounds of race, sexual orientation, or religion, with 76 per cent of recruitment consultants questioned citing this as a concern.
The online survey was conducted by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), the body for the UK recruitment industry, and questioned 298 recruitment consultants to gain a better understanding of how the Web 2.0 craze is affecting recruitment.
Other key findings include:
Candidate caution ñ 86 per cent think candidates should think twice before putting certain information on the Internet for fear of it affecting their chances of employment
Changing face of recruitment ñ 51 per cent think that the MySpace / Facebook generation has the potential to reduce the number of candidate placements through a recruitment agency as workers use internet social networks rather than formal networks to find and apply for jobs
Word of mouth still key ñ 75 per cent claim that employers have indicated to them that they donít want an interview due to negative comments made on the candidate from people who have previously known/worked with them
Extra curricular activities do matter ñ 71 per cent said something written in the ëother interestsí section of a CV has put employers off taking candidates through to the interview stage
Tom Hadley, the RECís Director of External Affairs commented:
ìAs more employers take interview shortcuts and rely on Internet searches to filter out unsuitable candidates, itís vital that job seekers take their Internet footprint seriously and keep in mind that it could affect their job prospects. Before posting any personal details on the Internet, candidates need to think twice about how an employer might perceive them.î
Hadley concludes:
ìEmployers also have a role to play. Itís vital that they donít make decisions on whether to take candidates through to the interview stage based on information they find on the Internet. Factors such as religion, sexual orientation, race or even personal preferences cannot be used to determine candidate suitability for a job role and employers could seriously narrow the pool of talent available to them by adopting this approach.î
Internet footprint could affect job prospects, new survey reveals
The online survey was conducted by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC)
