Social Media Screening- Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Social Media as a Reference-Checking Method

Social Media Screening- Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Social Media as a Reference-Checking Method

Technological advancements have led to an increase in the use of social media in the business environment. Employers use social media to screen applicants as part of the human resource management process. The main steps involved in social media screening include creating a social media screening policy, preparing screening questions based on the vacant position, conducting the screening by reviewing a candidate’s profile and what they post on social media platforms, providing a report to the hiring manager about the findings of the screening, and documenting the screening findings. Although social media screening presents various benefits for employers and organizations, various risks, such as ethical and legal issues that may impact hiring decisions, should be considered. Compliance with laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 pose advantages and disadvantages in social media screening.

Advantages of Using Social Media as a Reference-Checking Method

Social media screening includes two methods that benefit human resource managers and organizations and pose various legal challenges. One of the methods is conducting the screening internally. The main advantages of this screening method include convenience and anonymity. Internal screening is also fast because it only involves typing an applicant’s name into the social media platforms and finding their profile. However, this method poses legal risks related to privacy because the applicant’s professional and personal information is accessed, and the hiring team may learn about an applicant’s inappropriate characteristics, thus impacting the hiring decision. The second method includes involving a third-party company, such as the Social Intelligence Corporation, in the screening process. Third-party companies create reports, including public information from social media platforms (Young, 2021). The main advantage of using third-party companies to screen job applicants is eliminating bias, thus increasing the likelihood of selecting the best candidate. However, this method may also create legal issues because of compliance with privacy laws.

According to Vosen (2021), social media screening enables employers to access more revealing information about a job applicant because most people are more honest on social media platforms than in formal documents such as a resume. Therefore, human resource professionals have a wide range of information to draw conclusions about an applicant’s personality and character. For example, the information a job applicant shares on social media platforms can help HR professionals determine the applicant’s level of extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness to experience, and neuroticism. HR professionals can also use information about job applicants’ interests to determine their fit for the vacant position. Access to a wide range of information about different applicants also creates a wide pool of talent that HR professionals can choose from and reduces the costs incurred in conducting interviews to select qualified candidates from a large group of applicants.

Disadvantages of Using Social Media as a Reference-Checking Method

The main disadvantages of social media screening are the risk of legal issues, privacy settings, and lack of reliability. According to Jeske and Shultz (2015), social media screening falls under background checks regulated by federal anti-discrimination and privacy laws. HR professionals must ensure that the social media screening process adheres to the anti-discrimination laws enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to avoid legal issues that could impact the organization’s reputation and create legal liabilities. The anti-discrimination laws regulating background checks focus on preventing discrimination based on age, family medical history, disability, religion, race, sex, and national origin. An applicant’s privacy settings on their social media platforms may limit the information accessed by other people. Many people are also cautious about what they post on social media platforms to maintain professionalism. Therefore, applicants can use their social media platforms to their advantage by posting content that may appeal to the employer. Social media screening may also lack reliability because some people post false information. Social media platforms are also at risk of being hacked, thus creating the risk of accessing false information about the candidate. Making hiring decisions based on unverified information may create legal issues because a candidate may feel that the hiring decision was unfair since they were not allowed to verify the information.

Conclusion

In summary, modern technology is revolutionizing how organizations conduct major activities such as hiring employees. Human resource professionals are familiarizing themselves with social media screening to select job applicants because of the advantages social media screening offers them and the organization. The main advantages include saving time, convenience, anonymity, and access to more revealing information about a candidate. Social media screening is also vital in understanding an applicant’s interests and personality, thus making it easier for HR professionals to make a hiring decision. However, social media screening is impacted by legal issues because HR professionals are expected to observe laws related to background checks and anti-discrimination, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Privacy settings and reliability issues also impact social media screening because applicants can use the privacy settings on social media platforms to regulate the information accessed by outsiders. Therefore, organizations considering the use of social media screening in the hiring process must devise measures to limit the impact of the disadvantages of social media screening on the hiring process.

References

Jeske, D., & Shultz, K. S. (2015). Using social media content for screening in recruitment and selection: Pros and cons. Work, Employment and Society, 30(3), 535–546. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017015613746

Vosen, E. (2021). Social media screening and procedural justice: Towards fairer use of social media in selection. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 33(4), 281–309. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10672-021-09372-4

Young, S. (2021). Not too deep: Privacy, resistance, and the incorporation of social media in background checks. First Monday. https://doi.org/10.5210/

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Overview:
The use of social media has changed the ways HR conducts reference checks. This
journal explores the advantages and disadvantages of using social media as a
reference checking method.

Social Media Screening- Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Social Media as a Reference-Checking Method

Instructions:
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of using social media as a reference-checking method when considering complying with laws, such as the American with
Disabilities Act, the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, and the Civil Rights Act of
1964.
Requirements:
• Submit a Word document in APA format.
• Maximum three pages, minimum 500 words in length, excluding the Title and
Reference pages.
• At least two resources.
Be sure to read the criteria below by which your work will be evaluated before
you write and again after you write.