Employers – Are You Using Social Media to Investigate Potential Hires?

By Karen Rehn Leave a Comment

Let’s face it, we all do it. It’s just the time period we live in. Whether we’re discussing a new love interest or simply having a conversation about a particular person and everyone in the room doesn’t know them, –enter Facebook.

A quick login to Facebook and we can bring life to our conversations: “This is the new guy in the office at work,” or “This is the owner of the florist who created our fabulous flower arrangements.”

But Social Media can and is also be used for new, potential employees. Everything on the resume checks out, he has the necessary experience, –now let’s log into Facebook to see who he really is. Are you doing it, and if you are, what kind of dirt are you digging up?

What Are Employers Looking for on Social Media Sites?

According to survey results only 12% of hiring managers say they’ve actually found reasons to NOT hire a candidate from findings on a social media site. So, why are they lurking on Facebook profiles? Most admit to simply looking a bit deeper than the traditional interview. Often they don’t know what they’re looking for.

Here are some insights that will help you to be a bit more focused when searching a Twitter or Facebook profile. (Yes, it helps when you actually figure out what you’re looking for.)

What Can You “Take Notice of” on Social Media Sites?

• How a potential candidate presents himself or herself – Keep in mind, Facebook is a personal “social” site. Don’t expect candidates to be ultra professional. Just look for things that may not fit in with work ethic, such as, intolerance of people groups, extreme beliefs or dangerous speech, degrading or demeaning jokes or slurs, excessive use of alcohol, or other signs that may pop some red flags in your mind.

• Do the candidates qualifications and experience line up with what they report online? Sometimes you may stumble upon some conflicting information.

• Whether the candidate seems well-rounded, stable and happy – Everyone has a right to their personal life, but if a potential hire bashes men and their soon-to-be ex-husband constantly on their Facebook or Twitter accounts, this could be an unstable sign.

Unfortunately, most of us reveal too much on our Social Media accounts. For employers with plenty of extra time on their hands, you can find out everything from “what they thought about their former job, wages, and employer, to exactly how they view the government, authority figures, and people in general. Social Media is a bit of a window into the lives of others.

What Types of Businesses Use Social Media Most?

• IT (of course, a technology driven industry) is using Social Media the most, while health care is using it the least.

• Employers are looking to Facebook first, LinkedIn second, and Twitter third to research potential hires.

Karen Rehn, owner of HH Staffing Services, with four locations in Florida offers a word of wisdom on the use of Social Media for investigative purposes.

“Although employers can certainly gain some insights into the lives of potential new hires by their online profiles, be careful not to judge or to make hiring determinations solely on the information discovered online, unless it is directly related to the qualifications of the individual. Social media can also be misused and judgments can be made that are not correct or not even relevant to the individual’s on-the-job capabilities.”

Are you ready to hire a temporary or full time employee? Instead of pouring over applications and Social Media status posts, you may want to give HH Staffing Services a call. With decades of experience behind us, and extensive background and skills checks, we will relieve you of the burden and have qualified applicants at your door in record time.

Let us help you find temporary staffing in Orlando, temp-to-perm in Tampa and jobs in  Bradenton, and full time employees in Clearwater and Ft. Lauderdale.