SOCIAL NETWORKING. And Employment Considerations. Bonnie Curran, Human Resources Consultant University of Tennessee, MTAS.

Transcription

1 SOCIAL NETWORKING And Employment Considerations Bonnie Curran, Human Resources Consultant University of Tennessee, MTAS Page 1 of 20

2 SOCIAL NETWORKING Up to 300 million users (Sept. 2009) 100+ million users log in daily 65 Million log on from mobile devices 35 Years + fastest growing segment 480,000 new members added daily Average number of friends (contacts) friends x 120 friends = 14,400 Page 2 of 20

3 OTHER SITES Linked-in 44 million Myspace 100 million Twitter 5 million Page 3 of 20

4 SOCIAL NETWORKING Facebook: Social networking website originally created for college students now open to anyone. Allows members to create a personal profile with interests, pictures, hobbies, and work information. MySpace: Social networking website that allows members to create personalized backgrounds, play music, showcase pictures, stories and share personal and work information. Page 4 of 20

5 LINKEDIN & TWITTER LinkedIn: Professional networking site mainly used to showcase career information, referrals, goals, and new opportunities. Twitter: Newer social networking tool that asks its members What are you doing?, and users answers (tweets) are limited to 140 characters. Twitter users can post links to articles, pictures or videos as well. Page 5 of 20

6 FACEBOOK Page 6 of 20

7 MYSPACE Page 7 of 20

8 LINKEDIN Page 8 of 20

9 TWITTER Page 9 of 20

10 ARE EMPLOYERS LOOKING? Yes Careerbuilder.com conducted a survey and found 3,169 hiring managers and found 22 % screened job seekers using social networking sites. 34% have used what they learned to reject a candidate 24% have used the information to confirm their decision to hire a candidate Page 10 of 20

11 WHAT CAN EMPLOYER S SEE? Depending on privacy preferences Personal information Photos Online activity Friends and Family Comments and discussions History Activities and social engagements Relationship status Sexual Orientation Potential Disability Information Page 11 of 20

12 WHAT HARMFUL INFORMATION COULD EMPLOYERS SEE? Inappropriate photos Poor communication skills Questionable judgment Lack of professionalism Dishonesty (credentials) Political, religious or social opinions On the flip side, many of these positive attributes are confirmed. Page 12 of 20

13 EMPLOYERS ARE JUMPING ON THE BANDWAGON Are they on to something? Page 13 of 20

14 SOCIAL NETWORKS FOR RECRUITING Companies and Recruiters are using Social networking to find qualified candidates Companies and Recruiters are creating profiles and posting vacancies Companies and Recruiters are hosting online job fairs and events You can become a fan of a company page or product Job seekers use social networking to research companies and opportunities Page 14 of 20

15 AS AN EMPLOYER USE CAUTION Federal laws prohibit discrimination in hiring. These laws must not be overlooked when using social networking sites to aid in the recruitment process. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, ADA, and ADEA Page 15 of 20

16 LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS Checking social networking sites for applicant information If recruiters or hiring managers only check up on some candidates or aren t consistent in checking all of the same information, the employer could be vulnerable to claims of disparate treatment. Page 16 of 20

17 OTHER QUESTIONS Is it possible that the more mature population or applicants with certain impairments are less likely to be on the social networking sites? What are the implications of looking at someone s personal information? Page 17 of 20

18 USE CAUTION Accessing information that could potentially tell you about their protected class status, gender, age race, ethnicity, religion etc. Using social media as a way of evaluating or confirming criteria Using social media to conduct reference or background checks Is it the right person? What about imposters? Recordkeeping requirements? Page 18 of 20

19 TIPS Put all candidates through the same process Look for adverse impact Have policies concerning the use of social media in recruitment. Balance this with business necessity Consider a notification process letting candidates know you may examine information found on social networking sites during the hiring process Maintain all records required by law and any records that related to your decision Page 19 of 20

20 BOZEMAN, MONTANA Made the news big time! The city started requiring applicants to submit a list of all personal or business related spaces where they re members including personal webpages, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, YouTube etc. Applicants were asked to provide their PASSWORDS to these sites during the hiring process so that the city could conduct a background check. Dangerous practice. Don t do it. Page 20 of 20