The majority of companies say they use job candidates’ Facebook and LinkedIn profiles to evaluate them before extending a job offer, according to a new survey from The Manifest.
Meanwhile, more than one-third of companies (39%) evaluate candidates’ professional blogs or websites, and 29% look at Twitter profiles.
The Manifest surveyed 505 employees who work in HR, recruiting, consulting or executive capacity at their company.
Companies should ensure they are not violating discrimination laws when evaluating candidates on their personal social media profiles.
“My HR advisor strongly encourages us to avoid looking at personal social media accounts when recruiting new hires,” said Dr. Terrell Strayhorn, president of Do Good Work Educational Consulting, a consulting firm that conducts and translates academic research. “By looking at a candidate’s Facebook page, we might learn something that’s less-than-appealing yet irrelevant to the job. Should that influence our hiring decision, it could lead to allegations of employment discrimination.”
Some businesses, however, do evaluate social media profiles to guard against potential future issues.
“Social media helps us to be informed about whether employees have posted anything inappropriate such as racist hate speech,” said Steve Ozbolt, owner of Emerald City Catering and Events, a catering company in Milwaukee. “That would reflect poorly on our organization.”