30 Jan 2010

70% of employers have rejected job applicants over internet behavior

If all of your drunken weekend shenanigans end up splashed all over Facebook or you have a penchant for tweeting your weekly streaking schedule, the time may have arrived for you to clean up your online persona.

A new survey from Microsoft reveals that 70 percent of HR workers admitted to rejecting a job applicant based solely on his or her online info. On the flip side, 60 percent of internet users surveyed claimed they were concerned that their internet behavior could affect their professional lives. Although, despite the expressed concern, only 15 percent of them actually thought about the possible repercussions when posting content.

Before you run off and delete your Facebook and Twitter accounts, note that the survey also found that 86 percent of HR folks said that a positive digital identity can have a favorable impact on an applicant's chances.

(Via Switched)