Over the last 20 years social media has exploded onto the scene to where a large percentage of Americans have at least 1 social media account. Many adults over 35 years old have had social media accounts for over 20 years, such as sites like Myspace and Face the Jury going back to 2003 and 2000. Social media has provided recruiters and companies with an additional tool for recruiting purposes, but is it ethical for a company to use information about an applicant from 20 years ago to make a decision about employing that applicant today? In some cases, the postings being viewed may be from when the applicant was in highschool or college.
When applying to work at a police department, it is common practice for the officer overseeing the hiring process, to ask the applicant to log into their social media on the officer’s computer to allow for the officer to view all their postings as well as messages. Is there an ethical dilemma in this type of intrusion?
Where employers can learn a lot about an applicant through their social media postings, is there a point where they have gone back so far in time that the information viewed would be irrelevant due to maturity of the applicant and the passage of time?
A screening of the applicant’s social media accounts is not the same as a background check. Background checks look into various parts of the applicant’s life, examples include: social security verification, criminal history, drug tests, credit checks, certification/license checks and education verification. Many companies perform background checks prior to hiring someone to ensure that the applicant has a clean criminal or driving history as well as valid credentials (if needed) for the position they are applying for.
Over the years, recruiting usage of social media to screen applicants has grown, “According to CareerBuilder’s 2016 social media recruitment survey, 60 percent of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates, up from 11 percent a decade ago, when the survey was first conducted (Hannon).”
While social media can be an important tool used to determine if someone will be hired, many recruiters will wield the tool differently. “19 percent of employers reported finding information that actually ‘sold them’ on a candidate, such as their communication skills or a professional image (Bull).”
Companies want to make sure that they are hiring the right person for the job and marking sure that person fits the culture of the company as they would be a company representative upon being hired. Will this applicant represent the company in a positive or negative way based on their social media? Is that picture from 15 years ago with them in the honor society a good sign if it is next to a picture of them out partying with their fraternity?
Social media users have several options to protect themselves from being screened by potential employers. They can set the privacy settings to “friends only”, so companies can’t see their information. Applicants can scrub their social media to make sure that there is no content posted that portray them in a negative light. They can also choose to make themselves harder to find by changing their name or being “unlisted” so only people who meet a criteria can find them.
What about social media that is specific to working professionals and job hunters, like LinkedIn? LinkedIn has been growing as the popular social media platform for job hunters and recruiters to find each other on. Where some may choose to use their linkedIn accounts the same as their Facebook account, there is a different user base for LinkedIn and the site isn’t geared towards photo galleries and happy birthdays, but to post your resume and be able to submit it to jobs or finding resources in a professional social media setting.
Social media will continue to grow in popularity and as new trends come and go, there will be more posts made that will be seen by potential employers. They may not be seen this year or next year, but potentially 10-15 years in the future as “once it is posted online, it never goes away.” Will the activities of today affect the workforce of tomorrow?
Discussion Questions:
- Why or why not, is it ethical to use social media as a screening tool?
- How far back in time should a company be looking at?
- Is it the fault of the applicant for not scrubbing their social media for items that may hurt them getting a job if a social media screen isn’t included in the listed hiring process?
- Should all social media sites be viewed the same by recruiters and why? EX: Facebook, X, Instagram, etc.
References
Hannon, Kerry. “How Social Media Impacts Job Search.” AARP, AARP, 9 Dec. 2022, www.aarp.org/work/job-search/social-media-impacts/.
Bull, Charlotte. “Candidate Screening Using Social Media: Is It Ethical?” LinkedIn, 25 Mar. 2021, www.linkedin.com/pulse/candidate-screening-using-social-media-ethical-charlotte-bull-/.