I am an Inbound Marketing Specialist and a “virtual assistant”.  Sometimes I have to outsource some of the tasks requested by clients – either because I am very busy but mostly because there are some tasks where I do not have the level of expertise required.  Since almost all VA’s do a lot of their marketing in Social Media, I always check out their profiles and their Biz page to check if their skills and experience “in business” match the requirements for the tasks that need done.

However, I have heard pros and cons of companies/corporations/organizations who either do or do not check out potential employees who have a presence on Social Media.

I’m thinking that if the individual only has a personal page, they may have an issue with privacy in prospective employers checking out their personal posts.  And if they refuse to connect with the potential employer, does that mean they think their privacy is being compromised or that they have something to “hide”.  If the employer has a negative reaction to being refused the connection, is that going to play a big part in the chance of the individual getting an interview?

Considering Labour Laws about what you can and cannot ask in an interview, what rules apply to asking to join with a potential employee’s personal page?

I know some large companies who do a thorough search on the internet on potential hirees and I am not sure that they are have that right, specifically if what they find depends on whether the individual is considered for the job.  The other perspective on that is that most information on the internet is acessible to anyone so why shouldn’t the employer have access to it too?

I personally would not accept a connection if I was applying to work for a company, “unless” they were checking out my experience in business and my abilities and experience to qualify for the position.

Just sayin…

37% of employers are looking up Facebook profiles, which is why it’s still vital that (at least while looking for a job) you maintain a relatively professional persona on Facebook.

i just hired a new  person and   wouldnt  think of  asking  to see   her  facebook…i might  like to see it….but   it  seems over the line to me…i never ask to be FB friends  with my  workers  either…even tho we are….

@caseyvaliant I think it is important to understand the reason why a potential hire (or anyone) uses social media. A business presence is always fair game to examine because there is no expectation of privacy. It’s public.

I would never check or ask to check the personal social media sites of people in business relationships with me (or potential business relationships). Everyone needs privacy and space to express themselves without worrying about who might see it. Sure, posting anything online is never guaranteed privacy, but if someone expects privacy (like a Facebook profile), I’m happy to honor that intention.

I do not make friends on Facebook with my business relationships. It’s not because I talk about them, or gripe about business. It’s because I make a real effort to separate business from personal. I don’t go into the office and rattle on about the details of my weekend trip, or what my friends and I are planning. But I do exactly that in my Facebook profile.

I find myself leaning back to what my minister used to tell us in school: if you have to justify or reason out why you should do something, chances are you shouldn’t be doing it.

The law is clear: you cannot use some information when you are making a hiring decision (such as marriage status, religious affiliation, political affiliation, etc). If you go their facebook page, where such information might be very prominent, how can you guarantee that the information you find won’t be used in judging the applicant? You can’t. You can talk about how you’re 100% not going to do it, but we all know that it is a lie. Once you are exposed to information, you can’t ignore it, and you might rationalize or over emphasize something that you would have ignored elsewhere, even if you don’t realize you’re doing it. This kind of bias is hard to get nailed for by the State, but do you really want to be discriminating against other people? I like this quote:

“‘There’s much more subliminal discrimination against the unemployed that’s hard to document,’ said Lynne Sarikas, director of the MBA Career Center at Northeastern University’s College of Business Administration. ‘Hiring is an art, not a science. You rely on a gut reaction.’”
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/story/2012-03-23/unemployment-discrimination/53783328/1

I strongly urge that all hiring managers stay away from social media pages (linkedin being an obvious exception, it is an online resume that is easy to update and maintain and is intended for business).

Why expose yourself to anything that could cause you to discriminate against someone? Business is about making money, not advocating or pushing an agenda, no matter how subconsciously. Why risk it?

@richardmclaughlin No argument. When I work with people who start justifying their decisions and coaching their reasoning so they can feel better about doing something, I update my resume. I’ve left two positions for moral reasons.