Social Media Screening: Prevalence and Practice

In yesterday’s Advisor, Jason Morris, president of EmployeeScreenIQ of Cleveland, Ohio, shared his earned and not-so-earned (diploma mill) degrees. Today, his tips for social media screening.

Does your organization conduct online media searches as a means of screening candidates in the hiring process? According to EmployeeScreenIQ’s Survey, about 63% of organizations do not; about 30% do the searches internally; and about 7.5% use a third party.

The companies that do conduct such searches report searching the following sites:

LinkedIn	76%
Search Engine	56%
Facebook	54%
Twitter	33%
Google+	23%
Instagram	17%
Blogs	18%
Other	15%

Legal Considerations

Morris points out four main legal concerns when dealing with social media screening of candidates:

• Privacy. Employees and job applicants expect and are entitled to a reasonable level of privacy.
• Discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and state laws prohibit employers from making hiring decisions based on protected class information.
• Accuracy. The Fair Credit Report Act (FCRA) requires maximum possible accuracy in background checks. If you can’t prove something, you shouldn’t use it.
• Negligent Hiring. What information do you have the responsibility of knowing before you hire a candidate?

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Are you doing all you can to keep your talent pipelines full? Start on Tuesday, June 30, 2015, with a new interactive webinar, Win the ‘War for Talent’: Effective Strategies for Tapping Passive Job Seekers to Answer Your Hiring Call. Learn More.

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If you are going to use social media screening, be sure to evaluate these 7 do’s and don’ts, says Morris:

• Do designate a project owner.
• Don’t ask candidates for passwords.
• Do consider FCRA implications.
• Don’t believe everything you read and see online.
• Do beware of TMI (too much information).
• Don’t use social media inconsistently.
• Do create a written policy for using social media in the background-screening process.

The use of social media in recruiting is on the rise, but it’s not the only way to gain an edge in the battle for top talent. What other strategies are out there? Fortunately there’s timely help in the form of BLR®’s new webinar—. In just 90 minutes, on Tuesday, June 30, you’ll learn everything you need to know about staying one step ahead in the talent acquisition game.

Register today for this interactive webinar.

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Get creative in your recruiting efforts. Join us Tuesday, June 30, 2015, for a new interactive webinar, Win the ‘War for Talent’: Effective Strategies for Tapping Passive Job Seekers to Answer Your Hiring Call. Earn 1 hour in HRCI Recertification Credit. Register Now.

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By participating in this interactive webinar, you’ll learn how to:

• Use alternative sourcing methods to find hidden talent happily employed elsewhere
• Identify your “employer value proposition”—those key characteristics that make you an attractive employer for top talent
• Prepare a performance-based job description to truly determine the type of person who will be successful in this role
• Approach passive job seekers—too pushy and they will run away, too meek and they may create pay disparities or unrest within your existing workforce
• Track valuable talent to pull them through the prospect funnel and maintain future relationships
• Find out what the potential hire is passionate about—and assess whether the job you’re offering stacks up 
• Sweeten the deal—what benefits or incentives can you offer that make the job more attractive
• Ensure that job growth is an integral part of the package you offer
• Get support from all the crucial players in your own organization
• Think about identifying incentives for the family of the potential employee
• Be prepared to match or exceed any counter offers, if you really want to hire this person
• And much more!

Register now for this event risk-free.

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (Eastern)

1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Central)

12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. (Mountain
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (Pacific)

Approved for Recertification Credit

This program has been approved for 1 credit hour toward recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI).

Join us on Tuesday, June 30, 2015—you’ll get the in-depth Win the ‘War for Talent’: Effective Strategies for Tapping Passive Job Seekers to Answer Your Hiring Call webinar AND you’ll get all of your particular questions answered by our experts.

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Train Your Entire Staff

As with all BLR®/HR Hero® webinars:

• Train all the staff you can fit around a conference phone.
• Get your (and their) specific phoned-in or e-mailed questions answered in Q&A sessions that follow the presentation.

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