Employees Viewpoint. Social Media inrecruitment. Part. Survey Report. Nov

Transcription

1 Social Media inrecruitment Part Survey Report Nov 2012 Nuage Software Pty Ltd 2012

2 Contents Executive Summary 1 The Question of Privacy 1 Recruiter perspective 2 Job seeker perspective 3 Survey Report 4 Participants 4 Demographics 5 Social Media Membership 6 Job Satisfaction 7 Requests to View Social Media 8 Job Search Preferences 9 Resume Content 10

3 Executive Summary This report complements our earlier survey on the use of Social Media and Professional Networking sites for recruitment. Whereas that survey canvassed recruiting managers, this one assembles data from employees and job-seekers. Respondents were asked about their social media preferences, usage patterns and how the search for employment is being influenced by electronic media. In particular we wanted to know if potential employers were asking to see personal sites and whether this would be of concern if they did. 73% said would happily allow a recruiter to see their site and 87% said they would not be embarrassed by the content. 15% percent reported that, in the last twelve months, they had in fact been asked by an interviewer for access to their Facebook page at least once. The other interesting factor from the previous survey that we wanted to test was the note of caution expressed by employers with regard to the quality of information contained in resumes. In reply, 27% of participants in this survey admitted that their resumes contain exaggeration and 20% admitted to having some or lots of untrue content. Keyword stuffing, aimed at tricking automated resume scanning software, is a growing trend and was admitted by 21% of respondents, and third-party authors were used by 16% of the respondents. These results support the previous survey and justify employer caution regarding the content of resumes. The Question of Privacy Two comments made during the survey highlight the privacy issues and the following legal viewpoint is courtesy of Nicholas Linke, Partner, Fisher Jeffries. Nicholas has answered each comment from the recruiter s perspective and then the job-seeker s perspective. Page 1

4 Recruiter perspective Comment 1: Australian law can prohibit potential employers from using information gleaned in this way. The Privacy Act does govern the way in which certain organisations gather and use information. Whilst there is an exemption in the Act as it relates to employment, this does not apply to recruitment (ie. prior to the time a person becomes an employee). If the Privacy Act applies then organisations will be required to comply with the National Privacy Principles in relation to the gathering and handling of information which, in practical terms, means they will be required to advise the person in relation to whom the information is being gathered what information is being gathered from Facebook or LinkedIn etc, why, and what will be done with it. If they fail to do this they may breach the Privacy Act. Accessing such information may also breach the social media site s access terms and conditions. Comment 2: By a recruiter viewing a potential employee s Facebook, they are essentially gathering information about that person that they cannot legally ask in an interview. Like, Do you have children? What are your political views? and What is your religion? Gathering the necessarily wide field of information from a site such as Facebook may expose an employer to a discrimination or adverse action claim. Take a scenario where one prospective employee is clearly more qualified than another for a position. That employee does not win the position and applies for access to the recruitment documents under the National Privacy Principles. The documents include some Facebook screen shots which include information as to the applicant s impending pregnancy. The prospective employee may bring a claim on the basis that information regarding her impending pregnancy was seemingly relied upon by the employer. The claim could be brought under Federal Sex Discrimination legislation, State discrimination legislation or as an adverse action claim under the Fair Work Act. Under the latter Act, the onus is actually on the employer to prove that the real reason for not employing the applicant was not connected with the pregnancy. The lesson is there is a danger in knowing information about matters which may be the basis for discrimination or adverse action. For the same reason that asking questions about such matters in an interview is dangerous (or downright stupid) employers should proceed with caution when gathering information in this way as it could be the basis for a claim. Page 2

5 Job seeker perspective Comment 1: Australian law can prohibit potential employers from using information gleaned in this way. The Privacy Act does govern the way in which certain organisations gather and use information but it does not apply to all organisations. The danger from a job seeker s point of view is that the Act does not apply, their privacy settings allow access to their social media pages, and a decision is made on that basis without their knowledge. As social media privacy has become more of an issue, job seekers have been careful in maintaining stronger privacy settings. There has been a growing trend in other countries to actually ask potential employees for their password to access their social media sites, and decisions then made on that basis. In the US, legislation has now been passed in 2 States making such requests for passwords illegal. Job seekers are not obliged to and should not give their username and password to prospective employers. Quite apart from the invasive nature of such a request, which is analogous to asking to pop round and inspect a prospective employee s house, this is a breach of Facebook s access terms. Comment 2: By a recruiter viewing a potential employee s Facebook, they are essentially gathering information about that person that they cannot legally ask in an interview. Like, Do you have children? What are your political views? and What is your religion? Where the Privacy Act applies, job seekers may have a right to request a copy of their recruitment file including referee reports and other documents accessed during recruitment such as Facebook screen shots. If it becomes apparent that information taken into account in the recruitment process included information regarding the job seeker s sex, age, disability, race, union membership or activity, or other discriminatory matters, then the job seeker may have a claim against the employer or recruiter for discrimination or adverse action. However such cases should be considered carefully as the employer may well be able to show that the person who won the job was clearly the better candidate and that no discriminatory material was taken into account in making their decision. Page 3

6 Survey Report Participants This survey was run on our website and promoted through paid advertising and word-of-mouth on Facebook, LinkedIn and Google primarily targeting employees and job-seekers in Australia and New Zealand. Of the 196 returns that feature in this report most are from Australia and New Zealand. We have kept the other global respondents in this report out of respect and appreciation for their input. Australia New Zealand India USA Indonesia Bangladesh Fiji Italy Pakistan Phillipines Page 4

7 Demographics Almost half the respondents indicated they are Gen Y with remainder evenly split between Gen X and Boomers. Most classified themselves as Professionals plus a good representation for White Collar and Executives. Blue Collar at four percent is under-represented compared to the workforce but this may well be representative of their access and/or activity on the internet. 46% 26% Boomers Gen X Gen Y 29% 12% 4% 19% Blue Collar White Collar Professional Executive 65% Page 5

8 Social Media Membership The most popular site overall is Facebook followed by LinkedIn a distant second. However this result is somewhat distorted by the Gen Y response and we find that LinkedIn is the more popular site for Gen X and Boomers. Facebook LinkedIn Google+ Twitter Pinterest MySpace Yahoo % Facebook LinkedIn Google+ Gen Y Gen X Boomers Twitter Pinterest MySpace % Continuously Every hour Several time per day Once per day Several times per week Once per week Less often % Interestingly, every Boomer in this survey said they check their social media at least once per week whereas 24% of Gen Y and 5% of Gen X said they check less often. Page 6

9 Job Satisfaction Almost 70% of respondents were currently employed but only 5% of those indicated they were totally satisfied and would not consider changing jobs. 45% indicated they a looking to change and the remaining 50% are open to approaches. Employees who indicated they were totally satisfied in their current role were given a shortened version of the survey and do not appear in the remaining results. Totally satisfied would not consider changing Very satisfied but would consider a job offer Satisfied but would take a better job if it came along Satisfied but looking around Actively looking Desperate to move % Page 7

10 Requests to View Social Media Respondents were asked how they would feel about a request from a potential employer to view their Social Media sites. 73% said they would happily allow it. Happily allow it Begrudgingly allow it Not allow it Deny you have those accounts % When asked what consequences may result from an employer viewing their Social Media 87% said they would be okay. Be okay Be embarrassed Be sacked % Page 8

11 Asked if, in the last twelve months, an interviewer had actually requested access to their Social Media sites a significant number said Yes. LinkedIn Facebook Twitter % Job Search Preferences Respondents were asked to identify which media they consult to find jobs and which are the most effective for results. Similar to the employer survey, Seek was deemed to be the most effective followed by networking. Seek Networking LinkedIn MyCareer CareerOne Facebook Agencies Temping Print Media Twitter % Effectiveness Usage Page 9

12 Resume Content As a follow up to the employer survey where over half of the respondents said they only sometimes get quality information from resumes, we asked job seekers about the content of their resumes. 27% admitted their resumes contain exaggeration and 20% admitted some or lots of untrue content. Keyword stuffing, aimed at tricking automated resume scanning software, is a growing trend and was admitted by 21% of respondents. Third-party authors were used by 16% of the respondents. These results support the previous survey and justify employer caution regarding the content of resumes. How much of your resume... is exageration? is not true? has keywords to trick software scanning? is written by someone else? % All Lots Some Page 10