What do you do when the experts’ advice conflicts? Some experts say run Google searches on every candidate and don’t forget their MySpace and Facebook pages. Others say, stay away, you don’t want that information. So should you surf or not?
It’s annoying when the experts don’t agree, but it doesn’t mean you’re paralyzed. Here are a few things to consider.
A Grain of Salt
Take any personal Internet page with a grain of salt. First of all, you’re never entirely sure that the pages are authentic. They may have been set up or modified by someone other than the person you are looking for. Furthermore, many people are posturing on their pages, or have posted false information intended as a joke for friends.
A Little Understanding
Many experts urge recruiters to use a little understanding. As one noted, “I did some wild and crazy things in my youth, but they were quickly forgotten.” Now those same antics are “up” for everyone to see. Nevertheless, do you want to hire someone who jokes “publicly” about violence or illegal acts or displays risqué pictures of himself or herself?
Should you have a “presence” on MySpace, LinkedIn, and Facebook? What are the best techniques for recruiting at social networking sites? Find out at BLR’s new audio conference, Recruiting with Social Networks: How to Attract the Best Job Applicants Using Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Other Networking Sites. Go here for information
Is No News Good News?
Another factor to consider is the fact that many people don’t have a personal page at all, but that doesn’t make them great candidates.
Information You Don’t Want
The biggest argument against peeking at personal pages is that you will learn things you don’t want to learn, such as information about protected characteristics (e.g., marital status, childcare responsibilities, race, religion, or disability). When making employment decisions, you can’t consider such characteristics, and the best way to prove that you didn’t consider them is to show that you did not know about them.
If you do decide to do Internet background checks, here are two important steps to take:
Train and Train Again — Stress the necessity to make decisions based on job-related factors and to ignore information about protected characteristics. Then be sure to clearly document the legitimate business reasons for your hiring decisions.
Be Consistent — If you do Internet checks for one candidate for a job, be sure to do the same checks for all candidates for that job.
What About Recruiting on the Internet
More and more employers are going beyond background checks and are using the Internet—and especially social networking sites—as a fertile ground for recruiting.
Millions of Americans—from newly minted college graduates to baby boomers and seniors—have logged into social networking websites, created personal profiles, posted their résumés and job experience, and shared their networks of colleagues and friends.
MySpace, LinkedIn, and Facebook—Untapped source of exceptional candidates? Find out how to get through at BLR’s new audio conference, Recruiting with Social Networks. Read more
If you learn the rules (both written and unwritten) for navigating these sites, you can locate extremely qualified candidates for your workforce and position your organization as a friendly place for job seekers.
It’s an attractive idea for many employers, but how do you get started? What should you do first (and what should you never do)? You need experienced advice.
Our editors recommend BLR’s upcoming September 29 audio conference, Recruiting with Social Networks: How to Attract the Best Job Applicants Using Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Other Networking Sites.
In this 90-minute session, our experts will offer a full briefing on how employers can make effective—and legal—use of social networking sites. How do you find and contact candidates? How can you establish a “presence” there? Where should you fear to tread and how can you avoid pitfalls that can come back to “byte” you?
The date is September 29, 2008. The time, 1:30 pm to 3 pm (Eastern Time—adjust for your time zone). As with all BLR audio conferences, one fee trains all the staff you can fit around a conference phone, and you can get your (and their) specific phoned-in or e-mailed questions answered in an extensive Q&A that follows the presentation. Your satisfaction is assured or you get a full refund.
What if you can’t attend on that date? Preorder the conference CD. For more information or to preorder the CD, go here. We’ll be happy to make the arrangements.