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It's okay for companies to use facebook to screen potential job candidates (Discussion)

albrecht said – Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:47:04 -0000 ( Edit Link )

This has been a pretty controversial issue, especially on a lot of university and college campuses around the world. Some companies do it openly while others have strict policies against screening a candidate based on personal information found online.

Personally, I believe that if you are making information publicly available then you should expect that a potential employer might see it. From the employer’s perspective you should want to find out as much as possible before making a big hiring decision. There are privacy settings on facebook and many similar social networking sites which allow a person to block unknown people from seeing your information. That’s why I think it’s okay for companies to use facebook to screen potential job candidates.

Does knowing that a potential employer could be seeing everything you write or post online worry you? Do you “clean up” your profile at job application time or is it your private space and employers should mind their own business?

What do you think?

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acrosstheuniverse said – Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:07:50 -0000 ( Flag Edit Mark / Unmark Best Link )

Great debate topic albrecht. I totally agree, I think that people who make their personal information so readily available go into things (or should go into things) knowing that it becomes public knowledge. I know of many co-op students who had been told after being hired that their profile was checked. From a company’s perspective, checking facebook is a great resource. You can see whether they know the technology well enough to limit what can be seen, whether they’re social, if they have personal interests, even volunteer experience. One of my friends had just gotten back from a volunteer trip we had gone on for reading week and since those were the tagged photos of the time, it worked wonders for his co-op hiring process.

As for the question about a facebook “clean up”, because I have family added, I like to keep it pretty neutral, plus I only allow those I know to view my information. Even in a search, a potential employer would only be able to see a blue question mark and my name.
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oLahav said – Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:08:45 -0000 ( Flag Edit Mark / Unmark Best Link )

I completely agree. If you’re stupid enough to post inappropriate pictures of yourself publicly, you don’t deserve a good job anyway. Keep it private is what I always say!
But at the same time, companies have to realize that people who have a Facebook nickname of “snappy flower girl” and have questionable pictures and things like that don’t always bring that attitude to work. So since it’s not a very valid selection tool I wouldn’t advise using it exclusively to decide whether any candidates are a good fit or not.

If I had Facebook, which I don’t, I would keep everything private though, not just because of potential employers but because anyone can view it, and I don’t like that idea.
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preekap said – Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:53:32 -0000 ( Flag Edit Mark / Unmark Best Link )

yes..
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