Recruitment firms have warned corporate jobseekers that old social media posts could come back to haunt them as many financial employers scrutinise Twitter and Facebook accounts as part of their jobs-vetting process, reports City A.M.

Robert Walters, Chief Executive of Robert Walters, told City A.M., “When people are applying, most institutions are looking at the social footprint to make sure there’s nothing that could potentially harm the image or the brand of the institution. It’s a big consideration for lots of the major banks,” he added, saying that “HR teams often now do it as part of any process.” Hakan Enver, managing director of Morgan McKinley, also commented, “We’ve known of organisations rescinding contracts from candidates who have had politically orientated pictures in their social media profiles. Nowadays, you’ve got many more channels like Instagram, so one does have to be very careful with certain institutions whose reputation is held in high regard and don’t want to associate themselves with people who go against certain values.”

Graduates hoping to land a job at banks, law firms and insurers are being told to investigate old posts and photos to delete anything that could raise eyebrows among corporate firms focused on their reputation.