Should Hiring Factor In Social Media Posts?

JH
John Honovich
Jun 28, 2017
IPVM

The No Personal Opinions About Work article triggered a discussion about how much social media should impact decisions about employees and candidates.

Consider you are hiring a new employee, do you check their social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) posts? What type of content on those posts would impact your decision?

Vote / comment:

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Brian Rhodes
Jun 28, 2017
IPVMU Certified

When hiring, fitting into 'company culture' is always a big factor.  The way someone handles themselves informally tells volumes about the way they handle professional issues as part of your team.

Especially for physical security positions, if candidates are so lax or inept at managing the visibility of their social media content, ie: Last weekend's bar crawl/ Tinder event pictures are on full public blast, then that alone is a yellow flag that maybe this person isn't a good fit to consultatively sell on best security/OPSEC practices.

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U
Undisclosed #1
Jun 28, 2017

Unless the bar crawl is an official ESX event. Then it's okay. 

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Brian Karas
Jun 28, 2017
IPVM

I think it has become very common to Google someone's name as part of the hiring process.  Depending on the specific role, you usually want to check out things like LinkedIn and github (for developers or tech types) at a minimum. That alone will often turn up links to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and so forth.

Many times other community-related links come up as well, particularly for people who are active in things like little league (coaches, etc.), local government, attendance to charity events and so forth.

Even if the potential employer does not have a specific policy on reviewing social media profiles, these often get "caught in the net" with other basic searches on a candidate. And when that happens it is hard to ignore posts/pics from social media.

This is more likely to happen for candidates that are not referred by a close contact. If I trust Alice, and Alice highly recommends Bob, there is less likelihood I am going to dig around on Bob, since I can ask Alice about him. But, if I get a resume for Carol from a recruiter, or from an online form submission, it is more likely I will look at various information online to get a better perspective of Carol.

 

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UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #2
Jun 29, 2017

Off to Google myself again....

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U
Undisclosed #3
Jun 29, 2017

I am sure IPVM knows who we all are, this is a place of social media. That's it I am starting a company called UD1-Security, or in this case UD2-Security (already a UD1 in the house)....err UD3-Security!!(edit).

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UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #4
Jun 30, 2017

As we all know, there have been many stories in recent years about people losing their jobs over what they have posted on their social media accounts. 

On one hand, I am a firm believer that what you do outside of work is your own business... as long as what you are doing does not negatively affect your work or reflect poorly on the Company you work for.  

On the other hand, if your social media account exposes a negative side to you that your employer was not aware of, it is my opinion that you should be held accountable.  

For example; I had a colleague that was one of our top salespeople and on the surface a great guy and an excellent employee for the company.  I came to learn that he was using his social media account to criticize his boss and demean his co-workers.  There was one occasion that he posted negative comments about our Senior VP of Sales during a sales meeting.  I don't recall exactly what he said but it was along the lines of "I wish this d*ck would just STFU so we can all get back to the bar...".  How do you defend that kind of comment or put it into context so that it is not offensive?  He was fired later that day... before he made it to the bar.

There is no doubt that potential employers do an internet search on all potential hires.  It is without question the easiest and least expensive background check that a Company can perform.  Depending on the job you are applying for the Company may engage a third party to perform a deeper background check to ensure that the data presented on your application is correct.  

Your resume may be outstanding and make you a perfect fit for the job, but if your social media account is full of Swastika posters, pictures of you drunk out of your skull, or your amazing joint rolling skills, how can any potential employer take you seriously?  Likewise, if you're one of 'those people' that live on social media and post during the work day, how can you possibly be serving the best interests of the Company you work for?

If anyone thinks that your social media profile is not being considered during the hiring process you are naive!  The internet never forgets.  

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UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #2
Jul 01, 2017

If it's harming the company, then they should be gone.

 

I was working for a very traditional Japanese manufacturer several years ago in a Biz Dev role, which was tasked with changing the company sales culture.  We had just upgraded from BlackBerry to Android for company phones.  My Boss was in a all hands management meeting, probably 500 executive level people.  His presentation of changing the direction of the company was poorly received.  When he sat down, he opened LinkedIn, and posted something like "If anyone knows of a company that isn't stuck in 1910 who is hiring, please let me know."  He hit submit, and 350 new Android phones in the room "dinged".  I never saw him again.

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U
Undisclosed #5
Jul 01, 2017

I was working for a very traditional Japanese manufacturer... When he sat down, he opened LinkedIn, and posted something like "If anyone knows of a company that isn't stuck in 1910 who is hiring, please let me know." He hit submit, and 350 new Android phones in the room "dinged". I never saw him again.

Yakuza? :)

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UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #2
Jul 01, 2017

That's why I'm undisclosed....

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