Caution! Pulling back the social media curtain could lead to hiring discrimination

The social networking explosion has created an “Age of Transparency” for individuals who share their lives – the good, the bad and the ugly – for the entire world to see. As of January 2010, there were more than 500 million global subscribers to Facebook, with 103 million residing in the U.S. – a leap from 43 million a year earlier or an annual increase of 145 percent! Even more astonishing: The growth rate within the 35-54 age bracket is up 328 percent in the U.S. over the same period. It’s safe to say nearly everyone is doing it.

The ubiquitous use of Facebook and other social networking websites creates opportunities for hiring managers and HR professionals to “peek behind the curtain” with potential hires. While a helpful resource, social networking sites may also pose an HR risk if discrimination comes into play during the screening process.

To make sure you don’t cross any legal lines, consider these tips before scouring social networking sites:

1. Don’t judge a book by its cover. Photos appearing on social networking sites often depict individuals having fun with friends and family and may not always be flattering. Judge candidates on how they present themselves during face-to-face interviews. It’s their professionalism in an office environment that you are concerned with most.

2. Check out LinkedIn for the professional point of view. While Facebook is a friends and family communication portal, LinkedIn is its professional counterpart. Reviewing LinkedIn content will give you a much better perspective of an individual’s career history, skill set and professional presentation.

3. Avoid out and out discrimination. Some managers may dig deep into a prospect’s past, and, in turn, uncover spiritual, political, social or sexual preferences in the process. Using this information and other protected categories to discriminate in the hiring process is unlawful. Some states, like California and New York, have privacy laws preventing employers from interfering with employees’ private lives.

4. Social networking sites don’t always present the facts. Many people provide inflated details about their personal lives to hide certain information or to paint a desirable picture to friends and family. Focus your hiring decisions on resumes, interviews and references to avoid relying on disinformation.

5. Add social networking rules to your company policy. The best practice to avoid misuse of social networking sites is having a written policy that clearly informs hiring managers about what information can and cannot be considered in the review process.

Caution! Pulling back the social media curtain could lead to hiring discrimination

Social recruiting grows popular among recruiters

We may still be in a recession, but many companies still have open positions to fill and the most preferred method for finding promising candidates is shifting. Instead of spending their time on job boards like Monster and CareerBuilder, many HR pros and recruiters are turning to social networking sites.

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are quickly becoming top sources for recruiters searching for candidates, according to the results of the second annual Jobvite Social Recruitment Survey.

The survey also found that employers are more satisfied with the quality of candidates from employee referrals and social networks than those from job boards. The majority of those surveyed are planning to invest more in social recruiting in the coming years, according to the Jobvite survey of more than 400 human resource and talent management professionals

You have to complete a quick registration from Jobvite to get the full survey results, but here are some of the highlights:

• 68% of companies use social networking or social media to support recruitment efforts


• The most popular social networking sites for recruiting are LinkedIn (95%), Facebook (59%) and Twitter (42%)


• 66% of companies have successfully hired a candidate through an online social network


• Companies are investing more in employee referrals (76%), social networks (72%) and corporate career sites (64%)

The New York Times recently covered how both unemployed workers and employers looking for a low-cost recruitment method have found success using social networking sites. From the article:

Gladys Stone, a corporate recruiter in San Francisco, says it’s smart for employers to tap into employees’ social networks. This accelerates the personal referral process and widens the field, as many social network users have hundreds of friends or contacts in their networks, she said.

And while some may be disconcerted that software from an unknown company is searching their profiles, Ms. Stone says that most know that information on the Web can be used in ways that people don’t expect, and that LinkedIn, in particular, is built to make professional information available.

Does your company use social networking sites to recruit new employees? Have you been successful? What advice would you give others who may be thinking about recruiting using social networks?

Social recruiting grows popular among recruiters