Companies are increasingly using the internet and social networking sites to headhunt staff and to check out those who have applied for a position, according to a recruitment body.

The Association of Professional Recruitment Consultants (APRC) reports that roughly one in five employers look at sites like MySpace and Facebook to screen potential employees.

In addition, many use internet job listings to proactively search for staff themselves, instead of resorting to the more traditional option of employing an external company to find applicants.

"A lot of HR departments are now using the jobs boards instead of the agencies to source jobs themselves - they bumped into them and that's how it started," said Peter Clayton, chief executive of the APRC.

"It is why if you were a recruitment consultant you would probably not put your CV on a jobs board because you know your boss would probably see it.

"As companies become more internet savvy, it is not long before the ideas spread of new ways of finding people," he added.

A CIPD survey from last year showed two thirds of employers using the internet to find staff, with advantages given including lower costs, greater speed and the potential for a larger advertising reach.

According to recent survey by Connect, the two biggest IT headaches for businesses were 'everyday hassles with IT' (37 per cent) and 'security concerns' (32 per cent)