In fact, in a study conducted by Career Builder, 37% of hiring managers and human resource people from various industries said that their online background checks for prospective employees includes social media. That number is actually down from last year’s similar study (50%) and also less than 2009 (45%) – but it’s still nearly two in every five employers.

It could have something to do with the fact that 15% of those surveyed said their company has specific rules barring the practice.

The survey also unearthed 11% who say that they plan on scanning their employees’ Facebook profiles in the near future.

Out of those 37% of HR professionals and hiring consultants perusing through your social media accounts, one-third of them say they’ve found reason there to not hire a job candidate. The top reason? 49% say that inappropriate photos/info threw up the red light. That was followed very closely by “info about drinking or using drugs,” at 45%.

Other red flags: “Poor communication skills,” which I can only assume means so sound like an idiot in your statuses or tweets. Also, talking bad about previous employers is a no-no (33%) said that they have nixed a prospective employee because of that. Nobody wants an employee that’s going to publicly trash their employer if things go south.

Of course, it’s only mostly the bad stuff that people care about. There’s a chance that something you do or say on a social media site can actually help your chances in landing a job. According to the study, 29% said that they have hired someone because something they saw on Facebook or Twitter boosted their opinion of them as a person.

The most cited ways that social media made a good impression include showing a good personality, conveying a professional image, showing a well-rounded candidate, displaying creativity, and reinforcing qualifications.

If some of this comes out sounding like mixed signals, that’s because there are many fine lines here. In terms of landing a job with these social media hounds, you have to have a well-rounded personality, but not be too into the booze. You have to be creative but also professional.

The best advice is to use it to your advantage. Just cut out the bad stuff, and overplay the good stuff:

“Job seekers should be mindful of what potential employers can learn about them online,” says Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder. “If you choose to leave social media content public, tailor the message to your advantage. Filter out anything that can tarnish your professional reputation and post communications, links and photos that portray you in the best possible light.”

Finally, if you want to be a little edgy with your social media presence – it looks like Twitter is the place to do it. While 65% of the hirers said they look at Facebook and 63% said they look at LinkedIn, only 16% use Twitter in their social media background checks.

Of course, all of this only takes into account social media investigations from the outside. If your future employer wants to take a look at your accounts from the inside, you might have a whole other problem altogether.

Comments

If Justin Bassett’s experience were an anomaly, a strange occurrence that most companies would not repeat, that would be one thing. But, it is becoming more and more common for employers to ask for such things. And, it doesn’t stop at Facebook passwords. Some employers are asking for Twitter and other social site passwords, as well as email passwords.

Do you think Justin Bassett was right to walk out? Tell us in the comments.

Employers Protect Themselves

It is not uncommon, and is almost expected nowadays, for employers to do comprehensive web searches on prospective employees. Companies want to know as much as they legally can find out about the people they are hiring. Is this person a habitual drunk? Does he have children? Does he have a tendency to bad-mouth his past employers publicly? Does he post potentially embarrassing material online?

Sometimes, a simple Facebook search will reveal a person’s profile, pictures, personal information, posts and comments. Especially with Facebook’s dizzying security and privacy policies and changes over the past few years, a person may not be aware of what they can hide and how. Combine that with Facebook’s incessant insistence that we “share” everything about ourselves so we can have a “better browsing experience”, and the possibility of embarrassing revelations gets almost unavoidable.

Employers who have not yet committed to hiring someone have free reign to reject their application for any legal reason, or no reason at all. They are under no obligation, generally, to explain themselves. So, any “hitches” their online search turns up could result in an application being summarily round-filed. It could be over political affiliation, lifestyle choices, friendships, opinions publicly stated, or any other reason. Employers don’t have to tell you why they “chose to go another direction”.

But, what if you’ve been careful? You’ve enabled privacy settings. You’ve insulated your Facebook and other accounts from public scrutiny. You Google yourself and run other checks regularly. Your public face is neat, even if your private life is wild. Is there some expectation that your life is your own? Can an employer rightly – or even legally – ask for your Facebook login and password so they can walk right through your meticulously set up barriers for privacy?

Justin Bassett thought not. And, he acted on his values in that case. He not only refused to grant access, but he withdrew his application and walked out. He was in that ideal position: to be able to evaluate his potential employer just as stringently as he was being evaluated. But, many people are not in a position to do that. They feel they must trade their opinions and values on such matters as privacy for a much-needed paycheck.

What do you think about an employee’s choice in such matters, when his paycheck depends on it? Tell us in the comments.

It’s A Hot Topic

The topic has come up a lot within the past few days. It has been a question that has been asked a lot on Twitter, resulting in such comments as these:

Regarding that last comment, remember that Justin Bassett, the man who walked out of an interview when asked for his password, was talking with an interviewer who was looking his information up then and there. Having a chance to delete his Facebook account was not feasible.

What About The Law?

But, what about legality? For example, would there be any sort of possibility of discrimination accusation in challenging an employers ability to ask for such private information?

Federal Equal Employment Opportunity laws cover the following things, even in the job advertising, recruitment, testing and hiring stages:

An interesting question that could someday be addressed in court is whether an employer’s insistence on finding things that a prospective employee has deliberately hidden – by enabling full privacy on the Facebook account, for example – had revealed details about the employee that could be seen as basis for discrimination.

For example, what if an employer insisted on someone’s password, received it because the person felt they had no choice, but the search then showed that the person had an otherwise undisclosed disability, religious affiliation or racial heritage?

A Hypothetical Employer Nightmare

Mark has applied for a position with XYZ, Inc. He is well-qualified, educated, experienced and otherwise suited for the job. He tests well, has a fantastic résumé, loads of references and a great portfolio. His first interview with the company went well and he has received positive signs.

During the course of one of Mark’s interviews, the interviewer asks for his Facebook password. Mark has been careful. He has enabled privacy settings and is actually only Facebook friends with about a dozen people, all very close friends.

Mark does not like being asked for his password, but he really needs this job. So, he gives it. The interviewer opens Mark’s account. It becomes quickly apparent from Mark’s Facebook timeline that he is a Mormon and has epilepsy. This is not information that any employer would have ever asked for on an application or in an interview. But, Mark had revealed it to his closest friends in a closed forum where he had an expectation of privacy.

If Mark is denied the job, could he argue that he was discriminated against? Could he win? Would an employer want to put themselves in a situation where they were privy to that information? Or, would an employer figure that Mark’s agreeing to provide his password must mean that he was willing to reveal such information? After all, he could have said “No”.

What if the interviewer’s search had revealed the result of some medical test, perhaps in a private message or email? HIPAA laws do not apply to employers. But if that medical information revealed some disability, what sort of issues could that raise?

Is there a standard for expectation of privacy, especially regarding things that an employee does not do on company computers or on the clock?

Orin Kerr is a George Washington University law professor and former federal prosecutor. He calls asking for access to private information “an egregious privacy violation”. He adds, “It’s akin to requiring someone’s house keys.”

Some employers have adapted their policies. Now, rather than asking for an interviewee or employee to proved their password, they simply ask them to log in on a computer so they can then view the profile. But, that is still ruffling feathers.

Do you think it matters whether your password is requested or you are simply asked to log in? Let us know your thoughts.

The American Civil Liberties Union is now weighing in on this issue. ACLU attorney Catherine Crump said:

“It’s an invasion of privacy for private employers to insist on looking at people’s private Facebook pages as a condition of employment or consideration in an application process. People are entitled to their private lives. You’d be appalled if your employer insisted on opening up your postal mail to see if there was anything of interest inside. It’s equally out of bounds for an employer to go on a fishing expedition through a person’s private social media account.”

Robert Collins is another person who has faced this practice. Collins was a security guard with the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. He took a leave of absence following the death of a family member. Upon his return, he was asked to submit to a reinstatement interview. The agency asked for his Facebook username and password in order to “check for gang affiliations”. Collins complied because, as he said, “I needed my job to feed my family.”

After the ACLU filed a complaint, the Maryland agency amended its policy to simply ask employees to log in, rather than provide their password. But, the ACLU in Maryland is pushing for a Social Media Privacy Bill. The proposal is called House Bill 964 and “would prohibit employers from requiring or requesting employees or applicants to disclose their user names or passwords to Internet sites and Web-based accounts as a condition of employment.”

The question that is most being asked about all this is: Can they do that, legally? Perhaps another that should be asked is: Would an employer want to, given the potential discrimination accusations it could expose them to – even if that accusation is ultimately unsuccessful? Asking for Facebook passwords could lead to some disturbing consequences for both the employer and the employee.

Comments

In the latest quarterly survey, 8 percent of chief information officers (CIOs) interviewed said they plan to expand their IT departments, and 5 percent expect cutbacks, for a net 3 percent projected increase in hiring activity. Most CIOs plan to maintain their current staff levels: 85 percent of those surveyed plan no change in hiring, up 15 points from the first quarter. 87 percent of technology executives were somewhat or very optimistic about their companies’ growth prospects in the next three months, and 77 percent felt confident in their firms’ second-quarter investment in IT projects.

The findings are based on telephone interviews with more than 1,400 CIOs from companies across the United States with 100 or more employees. Executives are asked whether their companies plan to increase or decrease the number of full-time IT personnel on their staff during the coming quarter.

Key Findings

• Hiring has slowed, but companies are keeping their staff levels from the most recent spike last quarter. The net 3 percent increase in anticipated IT hiring activity is down seven points from a 10 percent increase in hiring activity last quarter. Eighty-five percent of CIOs plan to maintain their current staffing levels, up 15 points from the first quarter.
• Networking professionals are in greatest demand, with 16 percent of CIOs reported the greatest challenge in finding skilled professionals. They are followed closely by IT security (15%), and help desk/technical support professionals at 14 percent.
• Eighty-seven percent of CIOs are somewhat or very confident in their companies’ growth prospects in the next three months.
• Seventy-seven percent of technology executives expressed confidence in their firms’ second-quarter investments in IT projects.
• The Wholesale industry expects to do the most hiring at 12%, followed by 9% in the transportation industry. Manufacturing rounds out the category a 7 percent.

“Although hiring in the second quarter isn’t expected to be as robust as it was at the beginning of the year, the trend remains positive. Those in hot specialties, such as networking and IT security, will continue to be in strong demand,” said John Reed, executive director of Robert Half Technology. “Mobile media is an especially important area of growth right now.”

Comments

Congratulations You Aced the Interview

The must read Interview Guide to land the job of your dreams, College Edition

By: Patricia D. Sadar

Published: August 21, 2011
Format: Paperback, 114 pages
ISBN-10: 0982376561
ISBN-13: 978-0982376560
Publisher: Congrats Books

Patricia D. Sadar recognizes that recent college graduates lack the job experience of applicants who have spend some years in the workforce. The author reassures the new employment applicant that they have much to offer as well. She shares ideas for not only leveling the interview playing field, but for tilting the advantage in favor of the new college graduate. Patricia Sadar points out that many impressions of interviews are simply myths, and she breaks through them with real world advice that is relevant for the new job seeker. The author also answers the most frequently asked questions about interview preparation, how to interview effectively, and how to follow up with the interviewer afterwards.

Patricia D. Sadar understands that new college graduates are very often confused and even intimidated by the very thought of the employment interview. The author guides the would be interviewee through the entire process, including the different types of interviews, the important and most usually asked questions, and how to prepare for each type effectively. Using a playful, but very useful series of road signs as a road map on the interviewing journey, Patricia Sadar prepares graduates with advice on what is likely to take place during the conversation with the hiring manager, and how to make the key points and ask the right questions that present the interviewee in the best possible light.

The author divides the interview process into a series of manageable steps on the journey to being hired. The steps include:

* Breaking through the myths and learning the facts of interviews
* Where the graduate is now
* Where the graduate wants to be in their career goals
* How to get to those goals most effectively
* Charting the course with the author’s road map as a guide

For me, the power of the book is how Patricia D. Sadar combines the real world facts of interviews, with an easy to understand guide, to having a dream interview that gets the job. Using a series of billboards, road signs, dead ends, and barricades, the author steers the job applicant along the road that best suits the individual. At the same time, Patricia Sadar shares universal concepts and interviewing techniques that will provide a competitive advantage to any interviewee.

The author brings to the table her many years of experience as a Human Resources Director and career coach, and offers what she has learned that works in the real world of interviews. Overall, this is a must read book for any new college graduates who have real questions, and want reliable and effective answers to all of their most pressing interview questions.

I highly recommend the very useful and results oriented book Congratulations You Aced the Interview: The must read Interview Guide to land the job of your dreams, College Edition by Patricia D. Sadar, to any recent college graduates who are seeking a no nonsense and easy to understand guide book to interviewing well and effectively for any job in any industry. This book will give that new employment hunter a competitive advantage over other applicants and interviewees who lack this valuable knowledge.

CommentsCongratulations…You Aced the Interview

According to a whitepaper on Industry Trends in Human Resources Recruitment and Talent Management, by SIS International Research:

Large companies have been conducting assessments earlier in the recruiting process, while small to midsize companies assessments tend to focus on candidate quality and culture matches. However, size is not the biggest determinant of objectives, as companies tend to focus on the volume of recruits.

The most important trend is the continued refining of assessment tools to be more predictive of job performance. Companies are increasingly requesting applicant assessments to deliver a verifiable ROI. High volume recruiting produces extensive amounts of data and a common priority is to increase the validation between test scores and job performance.

The whitepaper also said that they saw an significant increase in the use of social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) and the various mobile platforms (tablets, laptops, and even smartphones) to help them connect with a larger talent pool.

There are many skills required to be a candidate for social media HR. as such is to be able to “develop new recruiting strategies and source talent by using the Internet and social networking sites,” according to Aliah Wright from SHRM.
Candidates need to be aware of sourcing techniques and know how to use search engines, apps, job boards and social media sites for community creation and leads generation. There is more to these HR jobs than tweeting job openings or looking through LinkedIn and Facebook accounts for possible candidates. According to WANTED, companies are offering HR positions for those who can:

• Direct traffic to corporate sites via social media channels.

• Proactively identify and attract passive talent through inexpensive sources such as social media.

• Build and maintain a pipeline of prospects through networking and social media research, while maintaining a “robust LinkedIn profile.”

• Learn and create Boolean search strings and perform advanced search techniques.

• Assist in placing employment ads to appropriate sources, to include websites, social media and other sources

Although companies are looking for HR candidates with social media skills, a recent poll from Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) shows that very few businesses use web-based resources in recruiting possible candidates. The top reason for companies not using web-based resources to screen applicants is because there are legal risks and ramifications. Another top reason is the lack of verifiable information found through these mediums, as well as lack of job-related information.

“One of the traditional concerns about allowing HR or any decision-maker in the company to look at social media sites is that they will have exposure to information and knowledge about an applicant’s or employee’s membership in a protected class or their participation in protected conduct,” said David H. Black, an employment attorney at Jackson Lewis LLP in Seattle, who is also the legislative director for the SHRM Washington State Council and the Seattle chapter of SHRM. He also mentioned that HR professionals should be cautious when they look at applicants’ or employees’ social.

The CEO of WANTED, Bruce Murray, said, “we’ve heard the ‘buzz’ about social recruiting, but the facts are showing that forward-looking companies are now expecting their recruiters to have mastered this core competency. Social recruiting has moved beyond ‘buzz’ and is definitely mainstream.”

The top five metropolitan areas with the highest demand for HR professionals who have social media skills are New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia, with New York on top of the list. However, Philadelphia is the area that faced the greatest increase, a 400% from that of the year before.

In a statement regrading the purchase, many quotes were pulled from members within the Salesforce and Rypple team.

“Salesforce.com and Rypple share a vision for extending the social enterprise to transform the way we work”, Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com continues, “The next generation of HCM is not just about a cloud delivery model, it’s about a fundamentally better way to recruit, manage and empower employees in a social world.”

“We chose Rypple to be the core of Facebook’s employee performance management platform because it’s designed from the ground up to be social”, Tim Campos, CIO Facebook, “We are delighted to see it become part of salesforce.com‘s social enterprise strategy.”

Daniel Debow, co-CEO and co-founder, Rypple, said this of the sale, “Rypple was designed from the start to be fun, social, and mobile — an app that can delight managers and employees in entirely new ways”, he continues, “As the leading social enterprise company with more than 100,000 customers worldwide, salesforce.com will allow us to not only strengthen our offering
for the hundreds of high-performing organizations that use Rypple today, but also scale it to reach many more.”

The state goes on to explain how most HCM software is years behind the platforms people are using in current times. The same results for HCM remain consistent,
however, the way people work is changing. Social media is one of the biggest changes, which is the main focus of Rypple. The details of the plan Salesforce will implement remains to be seen, with most signs pointing
to a game-changer.

Andy Beal

Andy Beal from Trackur started off with 6 steps to become an online reputation monitoring NINJA! He discussed how to lay the foundation for reputation monitoring:

1. Understand your goals. Why are you monitoring in the first place? To increase engagement? Measure campaign success? Track rogue employees? Monitor competitors? Keep an eye on your CEO?
2. Know thyself. Monitor your brands, your employees, your trademarks/copyrights, secrets, slogans/campaigns. Get more at http://gri.ms/KUVW.
3. Start off with FREE tools.  Why? There may not be much to monitor yet. It also allows you to try tools out before you commit to one. Some good free tools include: Google Alerts, Social Mention and Trackur’s free version.
4. Roll up your sleeves.  Do it yourself first so that you can understand what your true needs are before you outsource it. What are your weaknesses? What is your share of voice?
5. Don’t silo the information.  Share the knowledge. Who needs to know about certain information and who is responsible for responding or using the information? Consider community managers — they can know who the best person is to contact with certain information. Then give those community managers access — involve them in meetings.
6. Commit to act. Don’t just address the symptom, fix the cause. Make your company better because of it. Train your employees by educating employees about areas that need work. Engage with customers too. Actively listen.