The Why, When, Who and How of Social Media Background Checks

In an interview, you have at least some control, but when you go online, you have no control over what you’ll find. However, you can take steps to minimize your risks, says Meyer.

Meyer, a partner with Dilworth Paxson LLP in Philadelphia, offered his tips at BLR’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium held recently in Nashville.

Bulletproofing Your Online Search

First, ask some basic questions, says Meyer:

• Why do you want to use social media?
• What is the utility of doing the search?
• What information are you hoping to find
• Is candidate use of social media a plus or a minus?
• Is it critical to the position? (For some jobs, you may need someone thoroughly familiar with online sites and procedures; for others, there is no need.)

When Should You Search?

Do your search after the interview but before the offer. Or, says Meyer, make the offer contingent on passing the check. Before the search, get prior consent from the applicant. (You certainly need this if using a third party to do your search, Meyer notes.)

Who Should Search?

For sure, says Meyer, don’t let the person making the hiring decision do the online check. Consider using:

• A third party
• A member of the HR department
• Another non-decision-maker

How Should You Search?

“The ad hoc approach is stupid,” says Meyer. Be organized about your search:

1. Have a policy
2. Train people on your policy. (“Hiring managers, resist the temptation to go to Google.”)
3. Develop a checklist. Write out a list of what you want to know, says Meyer. For example:

• Expressions of hate
• Drug use
• Sexual content
• Disparaging comments about work
• Mean things about customers
• Volume of online activity (updating status every 10 minutes, tweeting every 15)
• Good judgment
• Good writing

The checkers go down the checklist and only the checklist. They don’t report on protected characteristics.

4. Document your procedure so that you can show consistency in your checking activities.

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Save the Bad Stuff

Finally, says Meyer, when you make a negative decision based on information you found online, be sure to save that and document your decision.

Meyer’s Test

Meyers offers the following test for checkers: What would you report after reviewing this FaceBook page with your checklist?

• Name: John Doe/The Wizard
• Job: Accountant/ Conjurer
• Hobbies: Disabled Vietnam War Veteran activities
• Religion: Warlock
• What I love: Taking care of my partner through his many illnesses
• What I hate” Traveling while there is a full moon (because I can’t take my knife on the airplane); Managers who make me work on Halloween
• Biggest accomplishment: Staying active while receiving weekly dialysis
• Most telling feature :My strong Bolivian accent

What would you report after going down your checklist? Only the statement about the knife, says Meyer. How can you get your supervisors and managers to manage their social media checks and the hundred other things you need them to do right? Only one way—train, train, train.

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