Social media is a valuable asset when doing candidate recruitment. Not only are sites like Facebook and LinkedIn expanding with each new active user, but entirely new social networking sites like TikTok continue to be created.
Recruiters have been learning more ways to strategically use these sites in getting ahead of the competition, but in doing so they can find themselves at risk of legal questions in comparing the information accessed online in relation to their hiring decisions.
1. Follow Your Company’s Non-Discriminatory Hiring Policy
This one is a crucial first step. Follow the standards set up by organizations such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act for screening candidates in order to have effective results and mitigate potential discrimination. This can help you avoid any future legal questions that could arise. If unsure, consult your internal legal counsel on ways to follow these laws. You don’t want to be guilty of violating laws such as the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act or others created to prevent discrimination in hiring.
In order to keep recruiting fair and avoid any question of a hiring decision there are a few key things to remember and techniques to have in place before searching the web. Establishing a strong recruitment policy along with prior education of these guidelines to those in charge of screening candidates (preferably someone who is not making the hiring decisions) is important. Making sure that these policies include what information can and cannot be included in making hiring decisions is vital in addition to creating a set list of what websites are to be used in accessing this information.
Using social media to look into one candidate and not others puts recruiters in a questionable situation. If you choose to use social media to look into one candidate, it’s important that it is done with all others as well. Lastly, keeping documentation of all information to reference back to what was used in the recruitment process will be greatly beneficial to the company should any questions arise.
2. Do a Google Search
Once your fair hiring guidelines are established, a simple Google search of a candidate’s name is the next step. This can help you find their social media profiles for further research. You can also help you research any organizations the candidate has been involved with in their local community, if they put that on their resume. Finally, it’s a good step to researching their past employers so you can ask informed questions about the culture they have liked or disliked in the past, to assess culture fit within your organization.
3. Visit the Candidate’s Social Media Profiles
A visit to a candidate’s Facebook and LinkedIn page can reveal a lot about the person, providing an inside look into their life that you normally wouldn’t see on traditional job applications and resumes. A Microsoft report indicates 79 percent of hiring managers had surveyed social media profiles during hiring, and of those, 70 percent had actually chosen to reject candidates because of the information that they had found. Knowing how to use these websites efficiently without accessing information that could lead to possible discrimination claims is crucial in the hiring process. With all of the available information at your fingertips, it is important that when choosing to integrate social networking sites in the screening of a candidate that the search remains relevant and nondiscriminatory.
Social media is very valuable in the
recruitment process when used correctly and integrated along with other screening tools. It has the ability to locate a large number of possible candidates as well as provide valuable information. Those
recruiters who are able to keep up with consistently changing social networking trends and have a strong knowledge of how to navigate these sites, will have an advantage over others and find the best candidates possible, while staying clear of any potential discrimination claims.
