Abstract
The purpose of this paper was to study the importance Kazakhstani HR specialists place on the competitive advantage of an online personal brand of a job candidate provides compared to a CV (Resume). The results showed that the majority of the respondents find the online personal brand of a job candidate valuable. It also influences HR specialists' preselection decisions. However, the CV (Resume) remains as a more informative source compared to an online personal brand. HR specialists rarely or occasionally do online screening. However, they always screen a candidate for top managerial positions. Negative/abusive language, sexually provocative pictures (risquè pictures) or videos, or controversial political, religious, or social opinion posted online might be a reason for disqualification. The research urged the need for implementing a more insightful source of behavioural information about a candidate.