Should My Company Use Social Media as Part of Our Background Screening?

With the rise of social media, employers have never had more access to information about their candidates’ personal lives. From their political beliefs to their partying habits—more information is more easily discovered than ever before.

So, should you be using social media background checks as a regular part of your background screening process? Probably not.

It is extremely difficult to conduct social media background checks in a way that doesn’t potentially violate ethical and legal boundaries. You may learn information that you cannot “unsee”, which could end up swaying your decision. In fact, we consider heavily using social media in your hiring decision making to be one of the Top 5 Mistakes employers make on background checks.

Here are three important reasons why you should avoid doing social media background checks:

Even a Quick Peek Can Be Harmful

Maybe you don’t plan to conduct a thorough review of an candidate’s social media profile. You’re just going to take a quick look, maybe check the most recent posts. What can it hurt?

It turns out, quite a lot. You can very easily expose yourself to discriminatory practices. An candidate can also file suit claiming that any of the information you found on their social media profiles was allegedly the reason you didn’t hire them, or that you later fired them.

You Can’t Be Certain It’s Them

This is one that might surprise you. After all, you know what your candidate looks like, and that’s definitely them in the profile picture. Right?

Short of asking for an candidate’s social media login information (which is now illegal in many states), there is no way to independently confirm that the profile is really theirs. An candidate’s identity might have been stolen, their information might have been used to catfish someone, or a bully might have set up a fake profile.

You’re Not Getting a Complete Picture

Most social media users are savvy enough to know that their employers, potential dates, and moms are going to be reading their profiles. Privacy settings are more advanced than ever, giving candidates more control over who sees what. When you check out an candidate’s profiles, you may only be seeing what they want you to see.

A Career Builder survey found that nearly half of employees only share posts with friends and family. If the purpose of conducting a social media background check is to find out who your candidate “really” is, then odds are you are not going to find out.

Diving into the social media profiles of an candidate can be tempting, but as a general rule, should be avoided. Instead, work with a trusted background screening company to complete a safe, ethical, and legal background screen for your candidate. Contact ClearStar today to get started!

At ClearStar, we are committed to your success. An important part of your employment screening program involves compliance with various laws and regulations, which is why we are providing information regarding screening requirements in certain countries, region, etc. While we are happy to provide you with this information, it is your responsibility to comply with applicable laws and to understand how such information pertains to your employment screening program. The foregoing information is not offered as legal advice but is instead offered for informational purposes. ClearStar is not a law firm and does not offer legal advice and this communication does not form an attorney client relationship. The foregoing information is therefore not intended as a substitute for the legal advice of a lawyer knowledgeable of the user’s individual circumstances or to provide legal advice. ClearStar makes no assurances regarding the accuracy, completeness, or utility of the information contained in this publication. Legislative, regulatory and case law developments regularly impact on general research and this area is evolving rapidly. ClearStar expressly disclaim any warranties or responsibility or damages associated with or arising out of the information provided herein.