As social media is expanding, business are also using
it for the hiring process of employees. Social media sites help businesses to
find a valid candidate for the company. However, if they do not know about the law of screening process then it can be dangerous for them. The article “Social Media,
the Law and You, by Mike Thompson discuss about this topic. He explains that we
can easily do online search for the jobs. There are some popular sites that we
can visit and find the jobs such as Monster.com, LinkedIn, or JournalismJobs. Com.
Searching jobs is not difficult now, however these social media sites sometimes
make difficult for someone to get hired. Author mention some statistics that 2
in 5 companies use social networking sites to search job candidates and
technology industries are also use social sites to look up valid applicants
based on employee’s social profile.
Author says that candidates should be careful for
posting their pictures on Facebook while they are up for a job. Employers do
use social media sites for screening the candidates. Thompson has provided the statistics
for this as well. He mentions that a 2009
Career Builder Survey reported that 45% of employers are using social media
cites for screening applicants for the position.
California Government has considered this issue seriously
and they signed 2 bills to stop universities and employers from taking the
candidates social networking and email’s passwords. Furthermore, author have
include other authors and CEO’s point of views about this social media activity
by businesses. They think that demanding candidates for their social media
sites passwords can give access to employers to reach to applicant’s privacy.
Jason Falls, who is the CEO of the digital marketing agency and education products
company Social Media Explorer, says that “In my opinion – and I’m not a lawyer –demanding
someone else’s password is a clear violation of privacy.”
Gilmore who is the author of the book “Social Media Law
for Businesses says that “employers go to social sites before deciding that if
they are hiring the candidate or not. Most employers use social networking for
screen candidates and monitor employees”. He thinks that businesses should be
careful with checking social media sites of the applicants. Using social media
for applicants screening can be risky for employers if they are not aware of
the laws. Without understanding the guidelines of the social media screening
laws business can be point out for crimination or violation.
Another interesting post Sarah - this is something everyone should know especially people in our age group. Our whole lives can practically be seen online nowadays. We post everything from breakups to old jobs and something in our past or even present can very well be red flags to employers. Although it’s sad to hear that employers are now using social media for applicants screening but I guess this should serve as warning to us all to be careful of the things we post online.
ReplyDeleteI’ve honestly enjoyed reading your blogs Sarah and I wish you all the best.
Good post Sarah. This actually makes me quite annoyed. How one handles their personal life is not necessarily an indicator of how they'll perform professionally. Indeed, one could make the argument that the candidate who wipes their social media history probably has far more to hide than one who doesn't. Employers should rely on work experience, education, and the personal testimonies of those who know the candidate. Spying on people without know anything about them feels very creepy and a stupid barrier for entry.
ReplyDeleteI had heard about employers looking at people’s profiles through social media but never knew that employers can access your emails by obtaining the password. This sounds like a great violation of privacy. I think that this is just way too much for the selection of a candidate and I am glad that there are laws that stop these employers from getting to the privacy of their candidates. Very nice post Sarah, as always! Thank you very much for sharing and I liked all your blog posts! ;)
ReplyDeleteNice post. I like that you used easy language. I think it is right in some way that all pictures should not be posted on Facebook. I remember once my friend informed me that one of the profile was using my profile pic. Then I had to report it to Facebook about it. I think people should be more cautious about what they are posting on different social media sites.
ReplyDeleteThough a person's Facebook profile may have nothing to do with how they are as an employee, it is still public in some aspects and anything you put on the internet is free reign for anyone to see. I am a big believer that if I don't want others to know about something and I want to keep it private, keep it off the internet. Some people think that it's not okay for companies to look at Facebook, instagram, or any social site of potential employees but it's public and they want to make sure they are not wasting their time on someone who may not represent their company in a positive light. I think it's fine to look but profiles don't always represent who we really are, I feel most people make their lives seem greater than it really is. It's really hard to say these employers are crossing a line, when we put everything all over the net and give access to anyone. My question is if we allow anyone to our social media lives, why is it wrong for employers to look? If you have nothing to be ashamed about, then who cares who views your sites.
ReplyDeleteI understand both sides of the argument here. On one hand, a person as an employee is not always reflected in what they have on social media or the way they act in their own social life. But there are some exceptions that do act this way, and as an employer I would want to know if one of my employees is going out every night and doing stuff that could hinder his or her performance at work. I think it is an employers every right to look at a future employees social media site, however I do not think it is right that someone has to give the company their information in order to log into their account. If someone has their profile set to private, then that should have to be respected.
ReplyDeleteSarah, great post as always! As paisley82 (Crystal) comments, “My question is if we allow anyone to our social media lives, why is it wrong for employers to look?” I think employers have a right to look into potential employees with public information, as long as they are doing so fairly. I had no idea that employers actually ASK applicants for their social media password. Now that is an absolute breach of privacy, I cannot believe that. I have no concern with employers looking at my social media because I have tailored it for the public, but I would never allow them to access my account.
ReplyDeleteAsking for social media passwords is absolutely a violation of a person’s privacy. However, if a person decides to have a social media account – they also have to keep in mind that it is fair game. Just because social media exists in the virtual internet world doesn’t mean that people are not formulating opinions about you – no matter how wrong they might be or how much potential you have as an employee. We humans are flawed in this sense. Perspective is everything. If you are perceived to be a drunk, it could deter an employer from hiring you. Just recently, I came across an article in the news about a new tumbler page called “racists getting fired”. Random strangers were contacting employers to report the racist language that their employees were using online. Employers were quick to terminate or suspend the employee based on their online behavior. At the end of the day, employers have to run a business and they will do whatever it takes to ensure they are represented appropriately by their employees.
ReplyDeleteI also saw people getting fired for posting racist things on the internet and to be honest I think it's a great idea. I think it teaches a lesson to racists and makes them become aware that their behavior is unacceptable. But in relation to jobs asking for passwords and access to someones social network profile i think that goes a little too far. Especially since people put up information that they aren't necessarily trying to share with a potential employer, at least at first,
ReplyDeleteI agree that anyone searching for a job should be aware of what they have posted on the internet. A couple of years ago I was in the process of getting a job with Fairfax County. I had passed their personality, simulation test, and even a polygraph. However, when it came to the background check I was told I failed. Since I don't have anything bad in my background I was confused until I realized that the old Myspace profile of mine that I hadn't used in years was easily findable and had more than enough pictures of me partying and looking dumb. I would definitely advise anyone in the job market to make sure they know what's out there.
ReplyDeleteI think you have touched on a very interesting topic. I mean some people do not think that employers should have the right to base their opinion on something personal. However, that’s what LinkedIn was created for, because some employers that have created new businesses recently required for one to include their LinkedIn profile, Uber is one of those businesses. I mean if you look at the way also social media is used against current employees where some have gotten fired or have had to resign. Look at the GOP staffer that recently left her position because of her nasty post towards the Obama girls. Social media has in fact seeped into the work place, and that is something we can’t stop.
ReplyDeleteI don't see anything wrong with a university or employer looking at someone's public Facebook page or Twitter feed, because these things are in the public already and it would make sense for the employer to check out what kinds of things their applicant posts online to see if this person is a good fit for the company. But I don't think it's ok for them to ask for passwords to applicants social media accounts to look for things that might be hidden and not in the public profile. That to me seems like asking to search someone's house or car before you offer them a job, and since it's illegal to do that I think it should be illegal to ask for someone's social media password too.
ReplyDeleteYou bring about a very important topic that is relevant today. Social media seems to be bringing about an outbreak of, to put the term lightly, a bit of crazy. On the news a couple weeks back I saw a boy who wanted to set his genitals on fire for likes because once you get to 20k the website will give you money. Apart from that google now bases there ads on what you have searched which can bring in a violation of privacy which you mention. Also, you are correct in how social media can now harm our job applications because what is on the internet does not go away. Many of my friends who graduated ended up deactivating there Facebooks for the same reason.
ReplyDelete