The Legality of using Social Media in Recruiting

In order to recruit the right candidates for a job, companies must use different channels to collect information about a person that could help or hurt them in the recruiting process. In recent years, the best place to go to gather this information is a candidate’s social media profile.

In a post in  hiring.monster.com the author sites  that once a recruiter looks at a social media profile, it is assumed they now now their “protected characteristics”. These include gender and race along with others, but the main takeaway is the fact that the company now risks being discriminatory against a candidate for traits and sometimes that would not go over well in court.

An expert also suggests that a recruiter should not look at social media until conducting a face-to-face interaction. The legality of this issue in society today is very different than it was years ago. People are a lot more sensitive to discrimination and companies have to be more aware of their practices when hiring new employees. I think a lot of people focus on how social media can effect the candidate rather than the recruiter.

This perspective allows one to see the advantages of being aware of your social media profiles. While most think it will only hurt you, there is a chance it could help if one posts reflect the interest and capability to perform in the position one is applying for.

Many people don’t realize their rights in a situation like this and wouldn’t pursue a company legally if they feel they’ve been discrimitated against, but maybe this will open some eyes and spread awareness about the topic.

 

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3 Responses to The Legality of using Social Media in Recruiting

  1. sro5073 says:

    While many people openly express their opinion about their disappointment in today’s society and their reliance on technology, I do think the business world is one area that technology is necessary and innovative. Businesses are constantly upgrading their technologies used and competing with other businesses to stay ahead of the game. Living in today’s day and age where the next possible technological progression is right around the corner it is essential to stay in the forefront of most recent uses and applications. It must be difficult for business to feel that they are ahead when the next day something new just pops up again. While technology is important I also wonder how far it is going to be taken and what advancements are coming next.

    This forbes article out lines some of my worries with the rapid advancements in technology and ends their article with “In a fully automated age, the only truly valuable asset will be the human spirit”. I agree and resonate with this entire article in its description of the way technology is changing business.

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2013/04/02/4-ways-in-which-technology-is-transforming-business/

  2. Mackenzie Schrock says:

    Social media in recruiting and job screening is a very popular topic right now because of the increasing number of social media users and the multitude of social media platforms available. I think the article you discussed is a very interesting and different viewpoint of social media use in recruiting. I have never thought about the fact that protected characteristics under Title VII could be discovered while searching through social media. My thoughts about social media and recruiting have always been more about the dumb things people post being used against them. As a Labor Studies and Employment Relations major (aka HR), I think that social media screening should not be done before hiring in fear that biases, whether intentional or not, do not happen during hiring. If you want to use social media as a screen, I would have it be post-hiring and tell the employee their offer is contingent on passing that screening.

    I read a similar piece on the SHRM website, that you can read that has experts give a yes or no opinion on whether or not social media screening should be used. Both experts give interesting takes on social media screening and how they can go about using that type of screen legally. Check it out: http://www.shrm.org/publications/hrmagazine/editorialcontent/2014/1114/pages/1114-social-media-screening.aspx

  3. sro5073 says:

    Social media use by recruiters is a very hot topic right now and there are a lot of opinions on whether or not it should be allowed. This article was interesting because it sort of looks at the overall issue in a different light. They are saying that companies have to use what they find in social media properly, and if they do then this could actually turn out to be a benefit for the job candidate. I like this idea better because social media should already be a reflection of ones self since we are putting it out for the public to see. I think future employers could get a better idea of who a person is by their social media, again, if used properly.

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