Introduction
Social networks have long stopped being a comfortable space for publishing content. Increasingly, when hiring people, HR reviews the web pages of potential employees. Correspondence acquaintance through social networks creates a specific image of a future worker, to observe their hobbies and interests. Recruiters set the objective to find not just experienced professionals but to assemble a team of like-minded people, aiming at a common result. Thus, it is essential to establish whether the content of pages on social networks should influence employers’ decisions in hiring and dismissal from the job.
The Importance of Reviewing Social Media
Social networks are one of the most effective mechanisms for communicating with each other, highlighting significant topics, publishing unique content, finding jobs and candidates, and evaluating them. According to a study of the research service, which ranks social networks by the number of active users per month, Facebook is currently used by more than 2 billion people worldwide (Hjorth & Hinton, 2019, p. 112). YouTube lags a little behind, ranking second with 1.9 billion active users, and Instagram reaches third with 1 billion. In addition, 70% of employers use social media to validate candidates during the hiring process, and 43% of companies use social media to review current workers (Hjorth & Hinton, 2019, p. 112). Employers view candidates’ social media accounts to ensure that a candidate is appropriate for them.
They view employee and potential staff pages on social networks as personal; thus, there is a good chance that by examining someone’s social networking profile, they can better understand their identity. It is essential to mention that there are three leading platforms that most employers check out LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter (Robertson & Kee, 2017). Generally, employers are most interested in a candidate’s LinkedIn profile because it is the most relevant. Most HR, recruiters, and hiring managers view a LinkedIn profile as a supplemental resume, while Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts reveal more of the candidate’s personality (Robertson & Kee, 2017). An employer views a candidate’s social media accounts to understand the individual, not to find compromising information about them.
Acquaintance with a candidate through their profile on social networks provides an opportunity to create a portrait of a future staff member and observe their hobbies and interests. This knowledge will allow a person to be perceived not only as a professional but also as an individual during the interview. It is essential to emphasize that there are five characteristics that recruiters, HR, and other hiring managers focus on most of the time (Robertson & Kee, 2017). The profile’s content recreates an important role; while some candidates know that the employer will view their profiles, they hide or remove all information from the account. This strategy is incorrect, as most recruiters indicate that they would not invite an individual for an interview if they could not find them online (Robertson & Kee, 2017). When an employer views a person’s empty profile, they immediately subconsciously create the impression that they have content to hide.
The second point is the consistency of the profile and the resume information. Indeed, in the profile on social networks, the candidate will not publish all of their professional experience; it is more to verify the person’s soft skills. For instance, if the person claims to be constantly developing and attending professional conferences, but their page is full of pictures of parties and alcohol, it is a red flag for the recruiter (Robertson & Kee, 2017). Thus, reviewing social media profiles enables recruiters to immediately assess whether a person is a suitable candidate for a position. This is especially significant when choosing between several people with similar resumes (Robertson & Kee, 2017). The third factor is the number of friends, subscriptions, and professional contacts. This criterion is considered if a person is applying for a position that involves constant communication with partners and clients. For example, if a candidate aspires to the role of PR manager, then it will be strange if they have only 40 friends (Stohl et al., 2017). Social networks and new contacts are required for the work of marketers, PR managers, and career counselors.
Another significant aspect to examine before hiring a new member of staff is the content of the posts. According to Career Builder, 43% of HR professionals stated that they rejected candidates’ applications if they had negative statements about a past employer on their page (Hjorth & Hinton, 2019). There is a high priority on a person’s literacy, especially if they are applying for a closely related position to content writing. Candidates who write about their professional activities, post photos from conferences, and share news from their profession have a positive impression (Stohl et al., 2017). Hence, a social media review can demonstrate how a job candidate will behave in a team and build relationships with management. Moreover, a quality-filled profile will allow recruiters to be convinced of the person’s professionalism.
It is significant to emphasize that the fifth element is the social newsfeed; Facebook or LinkedIn displays comments and likes that the user places and under which publications. This information will help understand the people’s life position better, what views they share, and what principles they adhere to (Stohl et al., 2017). Therefore, it is possible to know whether the candidate fits the company’s corporate culture and values. Accordingly, this will aid in preventing conflict situations in the team.
Employment Decision Making
As a rule, the essential criteria for personnel selection are currently grouped around four topics. These are identifying professional and business qualities, assessing personality type, determining the ability to solve a problem or self-study, and evaluating previous experience and education (Kruse et al., 2018). Any information from social networks should not be the deciding factor in deciding whether to hire a candidate or not. The final decision should only be based on their resume data, impressions after interviews, and social media reviews (Kruse et al., 2018). Although, one should consider that social networks provide a deeper understanding of the candidate, their life position, interests, and personality. Therefore, some recruiters request to include social networks in the resume. However, the primary drivers need to be professional competencies and abilities when hiring.
It is crucial to consider how a person may display hobbies on social media. Experienced doctors will not necessarily post photos of satisfied patients. Thus, there is a chance that if managers rely only on information from social media, they will not be capable of adequately evaluating candidates. The priority is to consider the applicants’ experience, training, and recommendation letters for the position (Kruse et al., 2018). Then, one can verify social media to confirm that the person fulfills the company’s guidelines.
Dismissal through Social Network Content
Significantly, there are no clearly established rules governing the behavior of workers on social networks, which is why there is no basis for firing an employee for posts. Nevertheless, employers have the right to monitor a worker’s performance of their job duties (Brown, 2017). If an employer determines that an individual spends time on social media instead of performing work-related duties, it will violate the employment contract. Prohibiting the employer from looking at or viewing the employer’s social media feed is not either. Although, assume that the worker posted a post with negative statements in their private account (Brown, 2017). If the employer considers the post to be damaging to the business reputation, then the manager can require the information to be deleted.
It is possible to apply disciplinary sanctions; when the case proceeds to court, the burden is on the employer to prove that it was the staff who disseminated the information and that the data are damaging. The worker has to justify that the information corresponds to reality (Brown, 2017). This will examine whether the employee has expressed an opinion or made an assertion about a fact or event that did not occur in fact. In most cases, the employer issues a local normative act or internal work rules, which prescribe a ban on the use of social networks or establish specific terms of communication in the face of the company (Brown, 2017). The worker should be acquainted with these documents by signing them. Hence, it is essential to consider each case; only if it violates the company’s regulations is it acceptable to dismiss the employee.
Conclusion
Social networks are deeply embedded in people’s lives as users share their innermost thoughts and the details of their lives with a wider audience. They do not consider that someone may approach this information with a professional interest. Most employers study the social networks of job applicants to create a personality profile of the potential worker. Some companies have even introduced an appropriate column in the questionnaire filled out by possible employees before the interview. Formally, the content of personal accounts in social networks may not be a refusal to hire but still serves as an additional argument for or against a particular candidate for HR specialists.
References
Brown, M. (2017). Privacy concerns over employer access to employee social media. Monash University Law Review, 43(3), 796-827. Web.
Hjorth, L., & Hinton, S. (2019). Understanding social media. Sage.
Kruse, L. M., Norris, D. R., & Flinchum, J. R. (2018). Social media as a public sphere? Politics on social media. The Sociological Quarterly, 59(1), 62-84. Web.
Robertson, B. W., & Kee, K. F. (2017). Social media at work: The roles of job satisfaction, employment status, and Facebook use with co-workers. Computers in Human Behavior, 70, 191-196. Web.
Stohl, C., Etter, M., Banghart, S., & Woo, D. (2017). Social media policies: Implications for contemporary notions of corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 142(3), 413-436. Web.