In any industry these days one must be careful about their reputation. Social networking profiles have become extremely important to the job search and application process. HR managers have indicated that they pay a great deal of attention to what an applicant’s social networking profiles look like.

A global poll of 2,000 HR professionals and consumers by IT giant Microsoft found that 41% of UK HR managers had turned an applicant down simply because of their online profile.

This is not a new development, employers of all types have been known to look to social networking sites for cues as to how their applicants behave outside of job interviews. However, the study confirms what has been an obvious trend recently. Brand reputation management can handle problems like these, of course, that is why the industry exists.

http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2010/01/29/53869/online-profiles-cause-job-applicants-to-be-rejected.html