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The Pros And Cons Of Social Media Screening

By Conor McMahon - Nov. 21, 2022
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During the hiring process, you may have used social media screening as a way to vet candidates. Or, you may have considered it but decided not to partake in the process.

In our era of digital culture and commerce, social media screening, like social media recruiting, has become an inevitable part of the professional world. Almost everyone has some sort of online presence and most companies want to capitalize on this, particularly in the hiring process.

However, just because social media screenings are prevalent, it does not mean they are always necessary. There are both benefits and disadvantages to conducting background checks on a job candidate’s social media.

Key Takeaways:

  • Social media screening is a background check of a job applicant’s social media.

  • Social media screens are helpful when they reveal unprofessional behavior or are relevant to the person’s professional qualifications.

  • Social media screens can create discriminatory biases and do not always provide trustworthy information.

  • Keep social media screens relevant to professional pages, such as LinkedIn, as much as possible.

The Pros And Cons Of Social Media Screening

What Is Social Media Screening?

Social media screening is a background check of a job applicant’s social media profiles and activities. This can be conducted by either a recruiter or a potential employer.

The social media of a job applicant can be broken down into two categories:

  • Professional social media. This is social media such as LinkedIn or Instagram brand pages that people use to conduct their professional lives online. The goals of these social media accounts can be anything from networking, to marketing, to content creation.

  • Personal social media. This is the social media a job applicant has for their own personal reasons, which may range from staying in touch with friends to viewing memes.

Whether a screen incorporates both types of social media is up to the discretion of the recruiter or employer.

By some estimates, around 70% of employers screen social media during the hiring process. Clearly, it is a common practice.

However, that does not mean social media screening beneficial. It has its perks, but it also has its drawbacks. Therefore, as an employer you need to decide whether or not you will use social media screenings.

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The Pros Of Social Media Screening

  1. Can reveal bad behavior. You may want to check an applicant’s social media to make sure the person doesn’t have any damaging online activity. A social media screen can reveal if a candidate has acted in such a way that disqualifies them from consideration.

  2. Provides more reference. You may also want to learn more about the person, since a resume and cover letter only tell so much. You may want to see if the candidate is the type of person who would fit with your company’s needs and culture.

  3. Can provide verification. Social media profiles can list information such as past work experience, portfolios, and education which can help verify the legitimacy of their application.

  4. It’s free and easy. Many employers like to conduct a social media screen because it requires such little effort. All is needed is a few minutes to search for the candidate online and see what comes up.

  5. Can be relevant. Professional social media accounts give you a glimpse into a candidate’s professional persona, as well as verifies their credentials. For positions related to social media, such as marketing and recruiting, a social media screen makes sense. In this case, you will judge the candidate’s current social media presence with what is required for the position.

The Cons Of Social Media Screening

  1. Can result in discrimination and legal action. A background check of someone’s social media can reveal information that can have an affect on your bias. This can result in unfair and illegal discrimination, which in turn can evolve into legal action.

  2. It is invasive. Simply put, especially when it comes to a candidate’s personal social media, you cross boundaries that should not be crossed. The personal lives of candidates should not affect their professional abilities. If you dig too deeply, you may come across personal information that may negatively impact your relationship with the candidate.

  3. Lack of reliability. Social media accounts can be crafted to provide a false image. What you see on a person’s social media is not necessarily what you get, for better or worse.

  4. It is inconsistent. Not everyone has the same social media presence. The quality and content can vary so much that it can be hard to give you an accurate read of the person when compared to others.

  5. Might offend and lose candidates. If candidate’s find that you conducted a screen of their social media, particularly their personal social media, they might get offended and decide to take a position at another company.

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Tips For Checking A Candidate’s Social Media

Social media screens are not perfect, so use the following tips when considering them.

  • Be mindful of your biases. When you go on a person’s social media accounts, you learn more information about them that might trigger your biases. Be aware that differences in culture, race, age, and gender do not reflect a person’s quality of professionalism and abilities.

  • Be skeptical of what you see. Since social media is all about appearance, assume what you see is merely an image, whether crafted or not, of a person that does not tell their full story.

  • Use it after the interview. Wait until you have gone through all the other screens of the hiring process before checking a person’s social media. In this way you can help mitigate whatever biases may come up because you have focused on the person’s professional qualifications.

  • Don’t rely on it. A social media screen is inconsistent in its usefulness, so make sure you have other ways to vet candidates.

  • Keep it relevant. When you look into a person’s social media, only look for things related to their professional qualifications. Choose social media related to work such as LinkedIn and avoid personal pages if you can.

Should You Look At A Hiring Candidate’s Social Media?

Social media screening should not substitute other screening methods that come with the hiring process. Social media screening can help under certain circumstances.

The candidate’s professional social media, such as a LinkedIn page or a business/brand social media account, are entirely fair to examine. These are social media accounts created by the candidate with the intent to network with other professionals.

You should only look at an employee’s personal social media if you think it is necessary. You may find that after all other hiring precautions, you still want a little more knowledge of the person.

As this articles shows, however, you need to be mindful in your approach. If you decide to screen a candidate’s personal social media, respect the boundaries between a person’s professional and personal lives.

Author

Conor McMahon

Conor McMahon is a writer for Zippia, with previous experience in the nonprofit, customer service, and technical support industries. He has a degree in Music Industry from Northeastern University and in his free time he plays guitar with his friends. Conor enjoys creative writing between his work doing professional content creation and technical documentation.

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