The hiring process has changed today, once not so long ago, a firm handshake, an impressive multistage resume and desirable college’s degree used to be the basic criteria in the hiring process for an applicant.
Today, most companies ask for a resume of more than one page, and a thorough pre-employment background checks including the following checks like:
· Verification of previous employment,
· Education ,professional licenses
· Previous address.
· Verification of identity and legal status.
· A complete credit report.
· Reference verification.
This information provides us a thorough account regarding the potential employee’s performance, his attitude towards work, his behavior, his roles and responsibilities etc. However it does not give you a perfect insight of social and interactive aspect of the person.
During a face-to-face interview, a potential employee will typically be on their best behavior. They will try to give their best in answering your questions and answer the way with all the right words. But how is the interviewer to be certain that this is the interviewee’s true personality and not just a face they present in order to have a better chance of landing with the job.
Why social media?
Social media is a place where people usually share everything, it may be a promotion or a bad day that being said makes it a good reason why social media can be an essential check for background verification.
On an average a person spends nearly 2-2.5 hours daily on social media. This statistic would lend credibility to using social media research as a way for learning about the candidate’s personality, his beliefs. At first glance it may be a good option, however many experts say it provides only limited access and the value of information may or may not be correct and has limited value too.
· Many states have already passed a rule that prohibits an employer from requiring a potential employee share social media information.
· One issue is what is known as “cyber slamming” or cyber bullying i.e. if we include social media in pre-employment background checks, it is impossible to completely separate truth from the available information.
· One more issue is computer twins – two separate people have similar or identical names and general background so verifying the pre-employment background check performed on the correct person is difficult.
Is it even a good idea?
As we know there are two sides of a coin so there are advantages and disadvantages as well.
If a job applicant applied for a manager of public relation then evaluation of their online presence and knowledge is invaluable.
A candidates profile on LinkedIn provides professional recommendation and connections as well as verification of their work experience.
So we can conclude that a social media as a step in background verification that can be helpful to somewhat extend but, cannot ultimately be taken into consideration for the purpose of a hiring decision.