Social media has changed the entire dynamics of the recruitment industry since its inception more a decade ago. More and more recruiters are finding social media as a viable medium for screening candidates before hiring them. Candidates are also more forthcoming than ever before about sharing their personal information on social media.
This abundance of information helps recruiters get invaluable information pertaining to the real personality of the candidate which does not become apparent during the interview process. They also get to know if the candidate has been involved in any unlawful, intolerant, sexually explicit behaviors so that they can stay away from a bad hire. A quick scan of social media profile gives recruiters clues about the communication prowess of the candidate and their achievements which they may have missed out evaluating during the interview process.
No wonder then, that the trend of screening candidates using social media profile is still on the rise. According to a survey by CareerBuilder 70% of employers now use social media screening, up from 60% in 2016. Linkedin, as expected, remains the more popular social media platform for screening candidates with 93% recruiters using the professional network for screening candidates, mainly to verify education and past experience details. Facebook and Twitter are also used but more to get an understanding on the behavioral aspects of candidates rather than their professional details.
In this infographic, we have included some of the best practices HR professionals and employers should be following to do social media screening right and make the best use of it and some of the pros and cons of social media as a channel for screening candidates. We have also included research data on what information recruiters and employers seek from the social media profiles of candidates and what kind of information can get a candidate rejected. Finally, we have covered some of the inherent challenges of social media screening.
cFIRST Think Tank is the team that researches and produces content for cFirst. This team comprises of seasoned content and digital design professionals and background screening industry veterans. Together we produce insightful blogs, infographics and reports meant for HR and background screening professionals.
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