It happens. Microsoft recently commissioned a survey of 1,200 hiring managers and recruiters. The result: "...79 percent of United States hiring managers and job recruiters surveyed reviewed online information about job applicants. Most of those surveyed consider what they find online to impact their selection criteria. In fact, 70 percent of United States hiring managers in the study say they have rejected candidates based on what they found."
So Microsoft, Facebook, Yelp, and others create the online world and encourage its proliferation. Then they monitor it to make hiring decisions.
Additional highlights from the study include:
“The recruiters and HR professionals surveyed are not only checking online sources to learn about potential candidates, but they also report that their companies have made online screening a formal requirement of the hiring process.
“Of U.S. recruiters and HR professionals surveyed, 70% say they have rejected candidates based on information they found online. Though not as frequently, respondents from the U.K. and Germany report the same trend.
“Recruiters and HR professionals surveyed report being very or somewhat concerned about the authenticity of the content they find.
In all countries, recruiters and HR professionals say they believe the use of online reputational information will significantly increase over the next five years.
“Positive online reputations matter. Among U.S. recruiters and HR professionals surveyed, 85% say that positive online reputation influences their hiring decisions...
Consumers surveyed have mixed opinions about the appropriateness of recruiters and HR professionals examining some types of online content. Most find it reasonable that recruiters and HR professionals check information on professional sites. There is greater concern, however, about recruiter scrutiny of photos, videos, and other personal content including blogs, personal social network pages, organizations they are affiliated with, financial information, and the like.
“Consumers surveyed use a variety of methods to monitor and manage the information posted about them online. Most notably, they use multiple personas, search for information about themselves, adjust privacy settings, and refrain from posting content that they believe could damage their reputation.
“Though most consumers surveyed do manage their reputation at least to some extent, there are a significant percentage of respondents (between 30% and 35% depending on nationality) who don’t feel their online reputation affects either their personal or professional life. Consequently, they are not taking steps to manage their reputations.
“As job seekers struggle to find work today, understanding how information posted online can affect their chances for employment is even more critical than in strong economic times.
“Fewer than 15% of consumers surveyed believe that information found online would have an impact on their getting a job. Those consumers surveyed in the United States and U.K. significantly underestimate the level of data mining that recruiters and HR professionals conduct and the impact it can have on hiring.”