Using Facebook, Linkedin, and Google to Screen Candidates: Great Idea or Bad Business?

Let’s be honest, it’s very easy to look people up on the internet. In a few short minutes, you can run a Google search or look up a potential intern’s Facebook or Linkedin page prior to your interview and know far more about them then you might find out on an application. It seems harmless enough because a lot of people are doing it. These days, many companies use online searches to replace the traditional vetting methods like background and reference checks, even before they have met a candidate. In 2009, Careerbuilder.com reported that 45% of employers were using Facebook and Twitter to screen candidates. It’s possible that the number is even higher now, but is this ultimately a good idea or is there a potential legal problem brewing?

Let’s start with the basics. There are very specific employment laws which have been created to protect candidates from discriminatory practices on the part of employers. Employers are not supposed to have certain information about potential candidates prior to interviewing them. It’s why an I-9 is supposed to be kept in a separate file away from the application. Interviewers should be making decisions about who to interview based on candidates applications or resumes, references, job history, etc. They should not have access to information like race, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or other information which could place the candidate in a protected class.

Searching for candidates online, especially before you interview them, can provide you with information you are technically not entitled to have prior to an interview. Now of course you can argue, “But Jen, they posted that information up about themselves and put that picture up on their profile. Doesn’t that make it public information?” Well yes it does, but that doesn’t mean you have a right to look at it before your interview with them. Even looking after an interview is still a little sketchy to me but that’s a discussion for another time.

Honestly, I think a time will come when a candidate will accuse a company of unlawfully discriminating against them because of information that company gained through an online search. I really do think we will see a case like that at some point in the near future. What this means for you and your company is that you have to weigh the pro’s and con’s to screening candidates through internet searches (especially on websites like Facebook) and decide if it’s worth the risk. I always recommend being cautious and utilizing the more traditional methods of candidate vetting. Also, under no circumstance should you look up a candidate before you have interviewed them. It opens you up to potential liability and may mean that you miss out on some really great candidates that you judged before you had a chance to meet them. Remember what your grandma used to say? You can’t judge a book by its cover and in this case you can’t always judge a good candidate by their Facebook profile!