LEAD STORY

Experts: Using Social Media as a Screening Tool for New Employees Raises Real Concerns

As social media becomes an important employee recruitment tool, many companies are also using those resources – coupled with search engines – to help “screen” job candidates.

“Did you Google him?” It has become a common question asked among hiring managers across all business sectors.

Content, from photos to video posted by individuals, their friends and, sometimes, foes, becomes fair game to companies whose managers choose to surf the Web in hopes of avoiding a bad hire.

Human resource and legal experts warn that employers can get into dangerous territory when relying on Facebook postings and the like. They’re concerned that managers may draw negative opinions of individuals based on uninformed perceptions or make hiring decisions using inaccurate information.

“How will someone determine a candidate’s integrity or lack thereof based on a Facebook page? There is a real possibility someone’s own biases can seep into evaluating someone,” said Anthony R. Wheeler, associate professor of human resource management at the University of Rhode Island.

Wheeler said there are two standards for determining what information is relevant when researching a job candidate: Is what you find job-related, and can it be predictive of future job performance?

William O’Gara, a labor and employment lawyer and partner at Pannone Lopes Devereaux & West LLC in Providence, says their “unofficial policy is that they Google candidates,” even while many of his clients are aware of the pitfalls.

O’Gara said he doesn’t oppose the use of Internet searches because a lot is at stake when a company makes a hire, particularly the time and expense related to getting a bad employee to leave the company. “So, I can see an employee looking around [Web sites] to determine if a candidate is not a good fit.’”

The attorney added, “I look at it as a legitimate tool for information that may have value. That said, I could argue the other side of the coin. It’s not a black-and-white issue.”

Aside from the potential to inject personal biases when evaluating a person’s Web presence, O’Gara said the source of content needs to be carefully weighed. “You have to ask how reliable is that information? It’s not like people take a truth serum before they post information,” he added.

O’Gara said an employer should generally not advise an applicant that they were passed over because of material found on the Internet.  

He and Wheeler agree that if a company is going to hire someone who will have access to sensitive company information, especially financials, or will be the face of the company, the best tool for screening the candidate is through a background check.

“You tell the person that the job requires a background check, including a credit check and criminal background check. It’s a much more legally defensible process,” said Wheeler.