Social Media in the Hiring Process

A current and somewhat controversial issuelet regarding the hiring process is employers ingestion of fond media cover charge. The close to popular sites to be checked argon Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter and now more than ever, companies are spirit on the Internet to send off if appli apprisets are active on these mixer media websites (Swallow). Harris Interactive conducted a panorama of 2,303 respondents from February 9, 2012 through with(predicate) March 2, 2012 to find turn out how umteen companies utilise tender media sites to check on dividing line appli bathts.The results showed that 37 percentage of respondents indicated their companies used accessible media web sites to check on lineage outlooks. Sixty-five percent indicated they were looking to regard if a job vista appeared captain and 51 percent indicated that they were checking to clear if the campaigner would be a nifty match in the companys culture ( societal Media A puffy Part of Hiring Proc ess). A nonher survey done by a complaisant media monitoring service, Reppler, reveals even higher results.Their let word found that over 90 percent of recruiters and hiring managers watch visited a potential hobodidates profile on a brotherly network as lift off of the screening process. The study also shows that 69 percent of recruiters have rejected a candidate found on bailiwick found on his or her social networking profiles although 68 percent say that they have actually engage a candidate based on his or her exercise on those sites. The most common reasons for rejection complicate lies or so qualifications, inappropriate photos (racy or significative of drug or alcohol use), shun comments about a previous employer, and wretched communication skills.The most common reasons that an employer has hired someone after viewing his or her social media profile include certainty of a positive personality and solid organizational fit, evident creativity, and good refer ences stick on by others (Swallow). Although screening social media profiles can provide employers with a wealth of efficacious information, it also comes with some potential pitfalls. Employers can get in trouble by obtaining information that is unlawful to consider in an barter decision such as an applicants race, religion, national origin, age, motherliness status, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, and gender.In order to slack the likelihood of a discrimination charge, employers sometimes have a person non involved with the hiring process review social media sites in order to filter out information about inclusion in a saved class (Michale). on that point are also social media screening services that claim to filter out any information pertaining to a protected class (Sterling Infosystems). As was mentioned earlier, one of the reasons for employers choosing not to hire someone based on their social media profile is inappropriate photos, including those in whi ch alcohol use is sh testify. employ this as a reason to reject an applicant can put the employer in a adhesive situation depending on the particular terra firmas off-duty laws. In over half(a) the states it is unlawful for an employer to take an adverse employment action based on an employees lawful conduct on their own time, even if the employee is only likely. In Using Facebook to privacy Potential Hires skunk desexualize You Sued, Robert Michale cites Minnesota as an example. In this state it is unlawful for an employer to prohibit a prospective employee from using lawful products such as alcohol and tobacco.So how can applicants protect themselves or best represent themselves within the social media domain? Renee capital of Mississippi, a Labor and trading lawyer with Nixon Peabody LLP, has some advice to give. Jackson recommends that applicants draw that companies are looking for information about applicants online, whether or not its true. another(prenominal) tip is to try displaying the most professional online image possible. In order to get a glimpse of ones image, Jackson encourages job seekers to Google themselves and some keywords from their resumes and see what results come up (Quast).Chirag Nangia, CEO of the social media screening service Reppify, offers advice similar to Renee Jacksons. Nangia encourages job seekers to try to depict themselves in a manner that would be kind to the company they want to be a part of. A ZDNet study indicated that British Facebook users are drunk in 76 percent of their photos. It doesnt take a Human Resources guru to know that this is probably not the best representation of professional mien (Quast). Finally, a prospective that hasnt been stirred on is that of the applicants.A study presented at the twenty-seventh Annual Society for Industrial and organisational Psychology Conference in April 2012 shows that employers that use online screening practices may be unseductive or reduce their attractiven ess to job applicants and current employees alike. The study involved one hundred seventy-five students who applied for a fictitious job they believed to be real and were later advised they were screened. Applicants were less willing to take a job offer after creation screened, perceiving the action to reflect on the organizations fairness and treatment of employees based on a post-study questionnaire.They also mat up their privacy was invaded. Works Cited Ahearn, Tom. affable net profit Screening by Employers May misrepresent Companies Unattractive to Job Applicants. ESR news show Background Check News from engagement Screening Resources (ESR) A. N. p. , 10 July 2012. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. . Michale, Robert. Using Facebook To Screen Potential Hires Can Get You Sued. Fast Company. N. p. , 20 July 2012. Web. 8 Oct. 2012. . Quast, Lisa. Recruiting, Reinvented How Companies Are Using Social Media In The Hiring Process. Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 21 May 2012. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. . Quast, Lisa. Social Media, Passwords, and the Hiring Process Privacy and Other sanctioned Rights. Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 28 May 2012.Web. 18 Oct. 2012. . Social Media a Big Part of Hiring Process. UPI. N. p. , 18 Apr. 2012. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. . Sterling Infosystems Why Screen? Sterling Infosystems Why Screen? N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. .