Social media screening
It is no secret that today your digital reputation precedes your in-person reputation. Before you are called for an interview, before your proposal is read, before anyone attends your presentation, before someone agrees to dinner or a movie, someone has already searched for you and formed an impression. That first encounter happens on a screen, without you there to provide context or correct impressions.
Reviewing social media during hiring is standard practice in many organizations.
The numbers are compelling. According to the Top Echelon Blog, more than 90% of recruiters use platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram to learn more about candidates, making social media screening a standard part of the selection process.
However, it is a tool that carries risks of discriminatory treatment, so it should be regulated, at least within the company.
When a recruiter reviews a candidate's public profile, they inevitably access information that the law, at least in Costa Rica, prohibits using as a hiring criterion: for example, the person's approximate age, ethnic origin, religion, marital status or political opinions. Something as basic as a profile photo, or photos in which the candidate is tagged, can reveal some of this information.
We should not assume that recruiters use social media screening with bad intentions. The recruiter is not necessarily looking to rule the person out. They want to verify the information in the CV and, along the way, find anything else that may be useful for the process.
According to an article published by Business News Daily, 68% of hiring managers admit to using social media to verify information and even to find answers to personal questions, some of which they could not legally ask in an interview.
To avoid these risks, social media screening must be structured. That means defining which platforms are reviewed and setting the purpose and limits. To prevent personal bias from influencing the selection, it is advisable to separate the reviewer from the person who makes the final decision, document findings using objective criteria and even notify candidates that their digital footprint may be taken into account.
Labor law keeps evolving, and it is time to address this reality. Organizations that get ahead of this regulation will be better positioned than those that wait for a lawsuit to force them to change.
Does your company, or your recruitment provider, have a formal policy on social media review in hiring? It is a question more and more organizations should be able to answer clearly.
P.S. Not having social media is not necessarily the answer. According to Apollo Technical, 21% of hiring decision-makers, or 1 in 5, say they are unlikely to consider a candidate who has no social media presence.
The moral: in this digital world, it is more important than ever to be careful about what you allow on your social media. Your digital footprint is real and may matter more than we truly give it credit for.
Inquiries: aas@aguilar.law