What are the Pros and Cons of Social Media Screening

Did you know that over 75 percent of people on the planet utilize social media? Consumers use these platforms to communicate, trade ideas, sell their businesses, and—not to mention—look for employment. Most companies now use social media hiring practices to satisfy the millennial generation’s needs, which heavily relies on these platforms for job searching due to the advancement of modern technology.

Employers utilize social media to find applicants and gather crucial information that aids their choice. How is that even possible? The public can quickly view the candidates’ profiles, which display everything they post and discuss. Recruiters can assess the type of candidate they wish to hire using this data.

Is pre-employment social media screening efficient and impartial in the hiring process? We’ll go into great detail about this topic and explain the pros and cons of finding applicants.

What is Social Media Screening?

Social media screening involves examining and evaluating a candidate’s online personas to make sure they are who they say they are on their resumes. You can also carry out a pre-employment social media screening to learn more about their language and communication abilities. Remember that this process should be before arriving at a hiring decision.

Most companies incorporate social media employment screening into their recruitment strategy to learn about a candidate’s social engagement. Imagine that you meet all the requirements for a job position, but a Facebook comment disqualifies you. Is it reasonable to draw a connection between a candidate’s behavior and business etiquette? Let’s examine the advantages and disadvantages of social media screening tools.

Pros of Using Social Media for Recruitment

It Unveils Applicants’’ Behaviour

Most candidates typically behave well during job interviews, but that does not necessarily mean they are good candidates. Even if some people have spotless criminal histories, you can unearth damaging information about them when browsing their social media timelines. Your ability to detect if someone is impolite, aggressive, or abusive depends on how they communicate.

Nobody wants to hire a candidate who discriminates against others based on their race, religion, gender, or culture. You may discover all these characteristics using a social media screening tool, allowing you to select the ideal applicant whose conduct aligns with the principles of your business.

It’s a Fast and Cheap Means of Gathering Information

The social media employment screening provides a rapid and effective background check method. For pre-employment screening candidates, you won’t need to invest much time or money in outside assistance. Enter their titles into search engines, and the results will direct you to their social media accounts. You can discover their exchanges with their former coworkers and learn why they left their workstations.

It Can Prove their Working Experience

The use of social media screening for recruitment has been crucial in ensuring that candidates are not lying about their abilities and employment history. The profiles of candidates will list their previous workplaces, and in some instances, you might find candidates criticizing their past employers favorably or unfavorably.

This information can help you better understand the person you are about to hire because what they did in the past is likely to happen again. Unfortunately, some applicants and workers go so far as to violate the GDPR rules and reveal sensitive company data. As a result, the company’s production and reputation can suffer.

It Helps Understand the Candidates’ Interest

What information about a career does your candidate post on social media? Do they want to learn more about the current trends in their line of work and how they can help the industry grow? The results of a pre-employment social media screening will reveal whether the applicant is genuine about their work or not.

It Acts as a Validation Mechanism

You can validate your candidates’ applications by incorporating a social media screening tool into your hiring process. With the identical qualifications listed on the resumes, you can be confident that you are dealing with an actual individual, not a robot or fake.

Cons of Using Social Media for Recruitment

Information is not Reliable

Since most businesses are now using social media platforms in recruiting, some candidates have evolved adaptation strategies to set up social media accounts with material the employer wants to see. Choosing a candidate will depend on your reading, but this is all fiction.

Additionally, some postings are by rogue individuals, accounts hacked, and because we are all only human, a candidate can have a difficult day and argue with a coworker online. Since you need to get to know someone personally to understand them better, this information cannot definitively say whether the candidates are excellent or terrible.

Not All Candidates are on Social Media

Some job seekers and workers choose to maintain their privacy; thus, they are not on any social media sites. You will evaluate the two cohorts in this situation quite unjustly and differently. You might accept those offline in the mistaken belief that they are good, but the opposite might be true and vice versa.

It is Prone to Unconscious Bias

You, as an individual, and the applicants each have your values and principles. You can encounter information that, from your perspective, is negative but, to the candidate, is commonplace. You will also interact with people of various racial, gender, religious, age, and sexual orientations.

All of these variables are delicate in one’s life; therefore, you might err on one side when selecting candidates as a recruiter. Furthermore, because people attract others like them, you can find yourself accidentally biased in favor of some candidates. Consequently, if this malpractice is discovered, you can wind up being charged with a crime.

It Results in Resentment and Disengagement

There will be a lack of trust in the company’s management and prospects/employees if they learn that you are looking into their social media sites. As a result, they will grow resentful and be afraid to participate in company activities, resulting in an early turnover and low productivity.

Safe Practices for Social Media Employment Screening

i) You should conduct the pre-employment social media screening after meeting the candidates for an in-person interview. This strategy will help you alienate cases of biases.

ii) Your social media screening policies should be clear to prospects and employees. In doing so, you will communicate your expectations around the social media subject, and all teams will be on their toes.

iii) Learn to differentiate between social life and professional life. Some posts on social media that a candidate did when they are free from the work environment. Try not to make your candidates lock themselves up from enjoying themselves.

iv) Incorporate other candidates screening tools and compare the results. Don’t only use social media screening tools. Furthermore, you can decide to outsource social media screening services if you don’t comprehend its basics.

Conclusion

Social media screening tools are vital for ensuring that candidates present their true selves, but before you use this tactic, make sure you are aware of the social media screening pros and cons. Knowing this can aid you in avoiding hiring errors that could lead to employing talent that is not qualified. Use other screening procedures for better results, and don’t base your hiring decision only on this technique.