http://www.hrmtoday.com/talent/recruiting/don%e2%80%99t-snoop-on-recruits-facebook-profiles/
I know the topic isn't really new, but I stumbled upon this article and would be interested in how you handle this issue? Do you consider it when you post something (especially some party pictures etc.) on Facebook? And would you give your Facebook details to a potential future employee?
For me the topic is especially interesting, because a friend of mine has worked several times in an Recruitment Consultancy during the summer and one of her main tasks she told me about was to actually screen the Facebook profiles of all candidates they had. Even before the candidates were contacted and interviewed, the company checked their Facebook profile. So the posts and pictures were basically then the first impression they had from the candidate. And as you all know, the first impression is hard to revoke, even if it was just one stupid picture or anything like that...
Looking forward to your comments :-)
Facebook. Seems like it developed to be a medium without which we cannot live anymore. But not only we are constantly checking our profiles, want to see if we got some likes or new messages, apparently also the companies are doing it. I think that we are all well aware about the "dangers" of facebook - we heared it many times in university, the news and from friends, that everything you put there will ALWAYS be found on the internet - you cannot delete it - and might and even will be used against you. This is why I am especially carfeul with the content I put on the net. I do not like posting party pictures neither I like being tagged in such pictures. And I highly appreciate that none of my friends does this either. You never know who can read the content and see the pictures and maybe you're not getting a job because of some stupid pictures.
AntwortenLöschenHowever, I also think that companies are going one (or two) steps too far when they are requesting the passwords from potential employees in order to screen their facebook profile. Okay, facebook is no private page and you share things with the public - but in my opinion the messages you are sending over facebook are private. So if a recruiter would ask me for my facebook password, I would not hand it out. In my opinion recruiters should screen the XING and LinkedIn profiles. These show how much effort a person puts on their professional profile in the web. Facebook is used for leisure. And who of the recruiters does not party and have a glass of wine sometimes?
In my opinion, this topic has to be handled very careful from each and everybody individually. I totally agree with Lisa, that being super careful with pictures and comments on Facebook is very important.
AntwortenLöschenThe moment you make your Facebook account, you are giving up a little part of your personal privacy and this is not a secret. Today there are so many pages people have accounts on, that it is sometimes hard to remember all the nicknames and passwords. You are giving away details of yourself all the time online, and Facebook is probably the tip of the iceberg.
As an Human Resource Manager, I would probably do the same and skim through the future employee Facebook accounts just to check, if they are "intelligent" enough to keep private things private.
I also agree, that giving out your password to the employer goes way to far. I can decide what is seen by the public and what is not, and this is the last bit of privacy I have at Facebook.
Would you like to spend 8 hours a day in a company that requests your facebook password and reads your private messages? If a recruiter would ask me that question, I would think twice. For me this would probably be a dealbreaker. It might be okay to check on the more or less public profile of a candidate. After all this is how they present themselves to society. But private messages have nothing to do with that.
AntwortenLöschenI agree with all of you.
AntwortenLöschenAs soon as you put information online you cannot control it anymore or take it back. So, you have to be very careful with the information you put on your profile.
Although it is nothing new that companies screen the social media profile of applicants it goes too far requesting the Facebook password from the applicants.
During my PTS I got a short insight in the recruiting process in a small company. The manager sent all applications to me and I had to check their CV and motivation letter. Anyway, none of the candidates was asked for his Facebook profile and we did neither search for them. The manager did not want to disturb the first impression of a candidate with the Facebook profile. From his and also from my point of view, you have the first impression after you have read an application. Still, meeting a person in reality is more important than making assumptions due to a profile. Nevertheless, I do not see a problem in searching the profile, as candidates should be aware of this. Everyone can change settings in his account so that the public may not see photos or posts. I also believe that you should only check the profiles of applicants after you have met or at least talked to the phone with them. What I do think is not right is when companies illegally check a candidate´s profile (through programs to see the wall or to get the password) as well as when a company asks for the access data.
AntwortenLöschenI don't see a problem with anybody checking out my Facebook page. My privacy settings don't show anything more than my profile and title picture. Even if a friend tags me on a pic, I have to approve first, before it is shown in my profile. And even then only my "friends" can see it. Even if a potential employer could see all of my pics and postings and thinks they are inappropriate (which they aren't at all), then I wouldn't want to work for such a company anyways.
AntwortenLöschenIf a person is stupid enough to post pictures of themselves half naked and partying wild and providing them for everybody to see, then it is probably a good thing for any employer if they can see up front, who they are dealing with ;) Safes time and money in recruiting...
But I definitely think that requesting the password for anything is a no-go.
Here is an interesting video, coping with this issue. Although it is more related to the financial side, it pretty good shows how far this can go.
AntwortenLöschenPersonally, I don´t like to put pictures online because of this issue. As already mentioned, it is everybody´s responsibility to configure his social media account in the way he or she wan´t information to be found.
So be aware ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7pYHN9iC9I