Candidates Look at your Social Media Too

In yesterday’s Advisor we looked at how employers handle candidate’s social media presence. Today, we’ll look at some other considerations, as well as some tips on how to screen with social media.

Anyone Can Screen or Be Screened

It’s not just potential employees who should keep their digital tracks clean. Forty-one percent of employers say they use social networking sites to research current employees, nearly one-third (32%) use search engines to check up on current employees, and more than one in four (26%) have found content online that has caused them to reprimand or fire an employee.

Further, a separate survey found that some savvy jobseekers are using social media to their own benefit. Nearly one-fifth of workers (18%) check out hiring managers on social media when job hunting.

Tips for Screening with Social Media

The number one tip for hiring with social media, from a legal standpoint, involves using a non-decision maker to conduct these searches. The searcher should be trained to:

• Avoid improper access to social media.
• Screen out any information that cannot lawfully be considered in the decision-making process.
• “Scrub” the information, and provide the decision maker with job-related information only.

Additionally, you might want to consider getting consent from applicants so that they are provided notice that the information they post on social networking sites may be reviewed by the potential employer.

Finally, employers should be aware that while it may not be an invasion of privacy to access an employee’s public social networking site, actions taken based on the information on the site may lead to liability under other legal theories.