Can social media keep you from getting a job? And can your social media posts hurt your chances of getting the job? The answer is yes. In fact,
57% of employers admitted to having disqualified a job candidate after a social media screening
, according to CareerBuilder survey. Ouch!
Not having a presence on social media could hurt your career chances
. According to the results of CareerBuilder's annual survey on social media recruitment, 35 percent of employers are less likely to interview applicants they can't find online.
Having no social media may make you harder to find, but it won't take you out of the running
. Employers are looking for the right person, not just the right profile, so always focus on your professional growth first.
In recent years, more employers have started conducting “social media background checks.” Where most background check processes focus on criminal history, educational credentials, or past work history, social media background checks focus on
what a candidate does online
.
Do employers check Instagram?
It involves researching a prospect's social media profiles and their activity, including what they post, like and comment on.
Some of the platforms they are likely to check are LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and WhatsApp
. Generally, employers are looking for any red flags.
Employers will be looking to see
how innovative and original you are in what you do online
. And we've said it before, it seems like it bears repeating: employers will also be screening out candidates for what they deem as inappropriate behaviour online.
It is essentially a background check performed using information available to the public for free through commonly used social media platforms
. However, if done with disregard for compliance standards, social media background checks can be illegal.
How far back can a Social Media Background Check Go? Social Media Screening generally goes by the same guidelines as the FCRA, but one of the main differences is the length of time you can go back and search profiles. In Social Media Screening – you can only go back
7 years
.
Per the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, employers cannot use race, national origin, color, sex, religion, disability, genetic information, or age to make a hiring determination. In addition,
choosing not to offer someone a job because of their social media content requires some consideration.
In a recent survey, it was discovered that
nearly 70% of employees screen their candidates on social media
. This is 10% more than what was reported just one year prior and a great way to run an informal background check to confirm an applicant's qualifications for a position.
According to a survey by CareerBuilder,
a full 70 percent of employers “use social media to screen candidates before hiring.”
Even more striking is the follow-on statistic: 54 percent of employers surveyed said they chose not to hire a candidate based on content found on their social media profile(s).
Since California is an at-will employment state — and California Labor Code 2922 states that at-will employees “may be terminated at the will of either party on notice to the other” —
employers can fire employees for anything, including their social media posts.
–
Employers want to see that you are familiar with, and commenting intelligently on industry information
. They also want to see your social network and the contacts you can bring to their company. Interested in a job at a craft beer brewery, fashion or a specialized industry?
Hiring and Screening Candidates on Social Media
A survey conducted in 2020 of 1005 hiring decision-makers by the Harris poll found that
67%
of employers use social media sites to research potential job candidates.
Do background checks look at Internet history?
If you are undergoing a background check, you might be curious if they will provide internet history or not. Thankfully, the answer is no.
An individual's internet history is not considered “public record” and it will not be reflected in a TruthFinder Background Report
.
- Study your company's social media policy. …
- Don't use social media to complain about work. …
- Limit social media activity in the workplace. …
- Maintain separate social media accounts for work and personal use. …
- Know your social media privacy rights. …
- Adjust your social media settings.
Do employers look at your Facebook?
The state laws on social media passwords are intended to protect social media pages that applicants have chosen to keep private. If you have publicly posted information about yourself without bothering to restrict who can view it,
an employer is generally free to view this information
.
Can employers see my private Instagram?
This is incredibly risky.
One quick look at an applicant's Instagram account or any other profile can reveal all kinds of personal information, such as their sexual orientation or religion
. This can open your company up to discrimination lawsuits if the candidate does not end up getting the job.
How can one's online profile affect their job opportunity?
For better or worse,
the pictures, comments, and posts that come up in the search results for your name can have a significant influence on your career
. According to a 2017 CareerBuilder study, 70% of employers check social media profiles and 69% are Googling candidates as part of their applicant screening process.
Can you lose your job for posting on Facebook?
In short,
yes, you can be fired for what you post on social media like Facebook or any other site
. However, there are certain laws that limit the extent of an employer's right to fire or discipline employees for what they post online.
Posting trade secrets or confidential business information online
can violate confidentiality agreements or employer policies and handbooks, and can therefore be grounds for termination. Employee harassment on social media, including sexual harassment, may also be grounds for dismissal.
In fact, 28 percent of employers report that they've fired people for using the Internet for non-work-related activity (such as shopping online or checking out Facebook, for example) during the workday and
18 percent
have dismissed employees because of something they posted on social media, according to CareerBuilder.
Investigators will be limited to only see and collect information from your social media that can be openly observed by the general public
and will not have the authority to gain any further access into your accounts or ask for any passwords.
The short answer is yes.
It is completely legal for employers to check employees' social media profiles
. Some states even allow employers to solicit social media usernames and passwords from their workers. In general, state and federal privacy laws dictate what employers can and cannot ask for.
What is a media search in a background check?
A social media background check is
when an employer reviews a candidate's social media profiles to see whether he'd be a good hire
. It's usually done near the end of the hiring process, and can reveal information that you can't find in traditional screenings.
Is social media screening legal? The short answer:
Yes, BUT it has to be done correctly
. If you're tasked with making hiring decisions and you decide to look at an applicant's social media activity on your own, you're opening yourself up to potential problems (such as discrimination lawsuits).
