debate

Pro

According to Jonathan A. Segal of HR Magazin e, “there are only two times when a person is perfect: at birth and at the job interview,” which is why employers should use pre-employment selection devices like social media checking, drug testing, psychological tests, and health tests.  These selection devices help the employers get a fuller picture of what the candidate is actually like outside of the interview process.   

One example of a potentially invasive pre-employment strategy that has been become more prevalent with the rise in technology is social media checking.  During the interview and selection process, companies can check a candidate’s social media pages such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  They should only check what is readily available to the public, and in many states it is illegal to ask for a candidate’s password to their social media sites.  When following the proper measures to ensure that the company is not breaking any laws and acting is acting ethically, social media checking can be a very helpful tool for employers.  

According to Segal, employers using social media as a supplemental background check tool can find information about a candidate that they would not have expressed during their interview like racist rants or photos of drug use, which would make the employer not want to hire them.  Nancy Flynn, founder of ePolicy Institute, listed additional information that employers may find out on social media such as criticising customers or employers or harass subordinates.  These can cause workplace tensions, damage the company’s reputation in the marketplace, or even lead up to lawsuits, and by checking social media pages, employers can avoid these future complications (Webber, 2014).  Also, employers could find posts that help the make the candidate’s case as to why they should be hired like volunteer work.