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77 8

Jimena Reyes
IT 103 A01
May 31, 2014
Impact of Social Networking on the Hiring Process
George Mason University



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Introduction
In todays society it is hard to find someone who does not have a social media
page, whether it be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Using these social
media websites makes it easy for personal information to go public, especially if you
do not use the privacy features provided by most of the sites. It is this easy access to
personal information, pictures, and posts that employers are taking advantage of when
deciding whether to hire or reject a job applicant, which is why this paper is going to
tackle the topic of social medias affect on obtaining employment. In the Time
Magazine article, How Recruiters Use Social Networks to Make Hiring Decisions
Now, a study was done on 1,000 companies showing that 92 percent of employers are
using or plan to use social networking sites for recruiting (Schawbel, 2012). This is a
slight increase from 89 percent the previous year (Schawbel, 2012). The purpose of
this paper is to present the impact that personal social networking sites have on the
hiring process, whether it is positive or negative.
Background
According to PC Mag, a social networking site is a website that provides the
opportunity for people to share their activities and interests with whomever they
choose like, family, friends, colleagues, or the general public. Social Networking
Sites have increased the amount of information available to Human Resources and
allows them to perform more in-depth background checks on potential employees
(Slovensky & Ross, 2012). The reason for this is that the majority of the information
included in someones personal social networking page is unprotected, which means
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that anyone can view it (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). It is this publicly shared information
that has caused an estimated 35 percent of employers, who report looking at social
media websites when hiring an applicant, to reject an applicant (Slovensky & Ross,
2012). This should lead to an increase of people changing their privacy settings on
their social networking page in order to avoid their private information to go public in
such a matter. The reason more and more companies are looking towards social
networking websites, such as Facebook, is not just the ease of finding information,
but also the protection of the companies assets and reputation (Pickell, 2011). This is
logical reasoning because screening for the best candidates makes the company look
better and less costly for them in the long run.
Companies feel that checking social media websites of job applicants is the most
efficient way to find honest information about them. The reasoning behind this is that
many times cover letters and resumes include information that is false and credentials
that are over exaggerated (Solvensky & Ross, 2012). By looking at an applicants
social networking page, a potential employer can find information that was not meant
to impress the employer and they can cross check the resume for inconsistencies
(Slovensky & Ross, 2012).
Legal and Social Issues
Some may think that, while people make their information public on social
networking sites, a company using that information violates the right to privacy of the
applicant. According to Slovensky and Ross in the journal article, Should human
resource managers use social media to screen job applicants? Managerial and legal
issues in the USA, only 17 percent of employers think it violates the right to privacy
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to use an applicants social media page in order to screen them for employment
(2012). Prosecuting a company because of violating and applicants right to privacy
is also difficult to do because there have not been any laws created to prevent this
from happening (Pickell, 2011). When it comes to employee personal information
there is something known as a stakeholder trust. A stakeholder trust requires that an
employer must treat personal employee or applicant information with respect which
means that it be kept confidential and cannot be sold to other companies (Pickell,
2011). Although this keeps personal information from begin used maliciously, it does
not regulate how said personal information is acquired.
Not only can attaining information from a social network website violate an
applicants right to privacy; it also has the potential to violate human rights. When an
applicant fills out an application for employment, they have the option of not filling
out race or marriage status. Marital status, race or ethnicity, whether you have kids or
not, political affiliation, and sexual orientation, are all things that can become
apparent to a possible employer when they see your social network page. This issue
may lead to discrimination, which causes an unfair hiring process (Pickell, 2011).
What Should Employers and Applicants Do?
When employers conduct background checks and find information on applicants
social networking websites, it leads to violation of the right to privacy,
discrimination, and may lead to the wrong information being used (Slovensky &
Ross, 2012). Anyone can put any information they want on the Internet and on their
social networking page so it is easy for an employer who does check social
networking pages to come across incorrect information that leads to either hire or
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reject a candidate. In order for an employer to protect themselves from accusations of
discrimination or violating privacy, they should disclose the fact that they will screen
the applicant using social networks as a source of information. This can take away
liability.
What should an applicant do? Applicants should make themselves aware that it is
a possibility that an employer will check their social media page because according to
a National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), this is going to be an
ongoing practice, now and in the future (Brandenburg, 2008). When someone knows
they will be entering the job market, they can make the decision to deactivate or
delete their social media pages in order to avoid them being found. This may not
always work because once something is put on the Internet; it stays there forever,
even if it is deleted. Another solution that has been frequently observed is simply
changing your name on social networking pages, temporarily, until employment is
obtained. This makes it difficult to find your personal information.









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Bibliography
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Brandenburg, C. (2007). Newest Way to Screen Job Applicants: A Social Networker's
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PC mag definition of: social network site. Retrieved from
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Pickell, R. (2011). Checking social media sites when hiring? proceed with caution.
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recruiters-use-social-networks-to-make-hiring-decisions-now/
Slovensky, R., & Ross, W. H. (2012). Should human resource managers use social media
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