Background verification of job seekers is becoming more and more routine – before companies hire or promote applicants, they are undertaking criminal background checks and sometimes credit checks as well. Employers need to determine the validity of claims made on resumes and during interviews to safeguard their workplace. The process is increasingly outsourced to specialized third-party agencies who cross-check each and every detail of the applicant’s history.
Now another type of background check is becoming common – screening of job applicants based on their Internet photos and postings. Companies like Social Intelligence offer this sort of service to employers, checking sites like Facebook, Myspace, Flickr, LinkedIn, Craigslist and others, limiting searches to what’s publicly available. They mine data from social networking websites, professional networking websites, blogs, wikis, and video and picture sharing websites. Job applicants must approve the use of a social media background screen, just as they would a criminal and credit background check.
Social Intelligence doesn’t store social data. Rather it looks at up to seven years of a person’s history, but stores nothing. As well, it doesn’t pass on identifiable photos. In fact, it screens for only a few things: aggressive or violent acts or assertions, unlawful activity, discriminatory activity (for example, making racist statements), and sexually explicit activity. Also, it uses only the data an employer provides to run a search. This tends to be standard issue information from an applicant’s resume: a person’s name, university, email address, and physical location. Thus, ultimately, the applicant is the one supplying all the data for a background check.
These kinds of services actually make a lot of sense. Employers would have to be unwise not to Google job candidates; yet, it seems better for both the employer and the candidate to have a disinterested third party perform such background checks. If the prospect of having social media screening seems discomforting, job candidates should realize that most employers are already conducting such reviews. In surveys, most employers admit that they check out applicants’ Facebook pages, blogs, and Google footprints. One might well wonder whether this could be a violation of the law if the employer sees something that shouldn’t be seen (like religion or sexuality) or decides not to hire someone based on something that’s been found.
When employers work with companies that perform social media background screening, applicants are presented with reports on the information found. Then applicants can challenge the legitimacy of the information (just as they can with a credit check) or know what might be hurting their employment prospects. The process seems to be providing a service not just for employers, but also for job applicants.
Pardon Services Canada can assist with Criminal Background Checks, as well as Removing a Criminal Record through obtaining a Canadian Pardon and acquiring a US Entry Waiver. A Client Specialist will provide a complimentary private consultation to answer any questions, keeping all information strictly confidential.