More recruiters and employers are using social networks and online web searches to help them vet potential job candidates. In a survey conducted in 2008, 26 percent of recruiters and employers polled said that they “always,” “frequently,” or “occasionally” used online search engines and social networking sites to vet job candidates. If you want to use the web as one of your tools in vetting job candidates below are a few tips:
1. Do a search by the candidate’s email address, not just their name. All of the online networking sites use email addresses to identify their members. By doing a search using their email address you can find out what the candidate has said on forums and groups
2. Check out the job candidate’s LinkedIn profile. Does their stated experience match up with the contacts they have linked to? If all or most of their candidate’s LinkedIn connections are in an unrelated field, the candidate may not have the type of experience that they claimed to have.
3. Take a visit to the job candidate’s Facebook page. Is there picture appropriate? Granted that many people use Facebook to make personal connections to family and friends, most decent candidates won’t post photos of themselves in compromising positions or holding alcoholic beverages.
4. If you come across a job candidate’s postings in forums and groups, take the time to read a few. Do they say things that could be a liability for your client? Do they say things that morally repugnant? Or, do they make statements that confirm that they are in fact a quality job candidate?