The FINANCIAL — An increasing number of U.S. employers say they are finding photos or statements online that ruin an applicant's chance at getting a job, a survey of Harris Interactive Inc. indicated.
43 percent or respondents who used social websites in researching a candidate indicated they had found content online that had ended the person's chances of being hired, according to survey.
In a survey a year earlier, the 34 percent of hiring managers who used social websites to research candidates indicated they had found negative content online that stopped them from hiring someone.
In addition, a larger percentage of respondents this year indicated they used social websites to do research on job candidates than the previous year — 39 percent to 37 percent.
Fifty percent of hiring managers who browsed social websites indicated they found inappropriate photos. That was followed by evidence of drug use or drinking (48 percent), negative comments about former employers (33 percent) and the discovery that the candidate had poor communication skills (30 percent), according to Harris Interactive Inc.
Those discoveries were followed by indications of racism or another form of discrimination and evidence the candidate had lied about job qualifications.
One the flip side, 19 percent of hiring managers indicated they had found evidence online that helped a candidate's chances of landing a job.
Job applicants were helped by evidence of their professional image, a better understanding of their personality and even better qualifications than the hiring managers had believed.
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