Background check time arrived for social media

social media background checks in the past, and many companies have been performing them for quite some time, social media background checks seem to have crossed that line from ‘sporadic’ to ‘normality’.

Back in 2009, forty-five percent of employers reported in a CareerBuilder survey that they use social networking sites to screen potential employees. Now, that figure stands at closer to 75% – and continues to increase. Social media background checks start early A recent article presented the fact that even students are facing such checks, and it has become a common practice at schools across the country. “The University of North Carolina’s student-athlete handbook as an example typical of many colleges: ‘Each team must identify at least one coach or administrator who is responsible for having access to and regularly monitoring the content of team members’ social-networking sites and postings.'” It goes on to say that “the athletics department also reserves the right to have other staff members monitor athletes post,” leaving the door open for the university to use outside social-media-monitoring companies.” Why combine personal with professional? The question may be raised by many as to why what they do in their personal lives should affect their professional lives. In response, Rob Pickell of HireRight claims it’s all about finding the right person for the role: “Social networking allows organizations to build their employment brand and awareness, expand the breadth and depth of their network, target top talent in a large range of skill sets, and improve the effectiveness of their recruiting efforts.” While seeking out talent and finding someone suitable for the role, one consequence of this is that a company will have to pass over many others who are clearly not right for the role. Legal issues Pickell goes on to say that “the difficulty occurs when information provided on social media sites is used to screen or explicitly eliminate a candidate from consideration. This elimination, when based on data found through social media content, opens the employer to the potential risks of liability, discrimination claims and non-compliance with regulations.” For example, an employer may come across information regarding an applicant’s race, religious views or age – all of which may affect their hiring decision. However, including such attributes in any hiring decision is illegal – so employers have to tread carefully. Overall – it seems that the background check time has most certainly arrived for social media. While employers need to be careful, job applicants ought to be aware that their social media profiles are not as private as they might have thought – and the information put online is available for everyone to see, for ever. What are your thoughts on social media background checks?  ]]>