Employers Have to Check New Employees' Social Networking Profiles?

Every employer tries to hire the best employee in terms of educational qualification and professional experience. Its the responsibility of HR department to seek and recruit the best employee for their job opening.

In Pakistan hiring an employee is an easy task. A reviewing of the candidates papers, an interview and consulting a few references and you are done. Following the philosophy of first impression is the last impression. Every employee tries to present their self  in the best possible manners. Regardless how that person is in its normal life. Everyone would hire a sober looking and a well dressed person speaking fluent English with a charismatic personality. But afterwards when the employee gets hired. He tends to show his true spirit. Behaving in a way which is unacceptable and wasn’t seen during the interview.

The thing is judging the behavior and true personality of a possible employee with just an interview and a few references is not enough. If we take an example, In US HR firms do a thorough check on the social networking profiles of the employee prior to the interview. They check the domestic life and background of their yet to be employees to see what are their habits and living style. If you have put a picture of yours with your friends during a game of beer pong and you happen to be in US then you will would never get the job no matter how many A’s you got in your academic life.

This practice enables employers to hire the best staff which positively impacts the future of their companies. So, companies and HR firms in Pakistan should also consider to check social networking profiles of job seekers to make sure they are recruiting the best people. With more than 900,000 people on Facebook from Pakistan and the ongoing awareness of blogging – every job seeker is likely to have an online social profile. With which his social lifestyle and habits can be monitored.

According to a study from US job website, CareerBuilder:

Forty-five percent of employers are using social networking sites to research job candidates prior to interviewing them. Of those who conduct online searches/background checks of job candidates, 29 percent use Facebook, 26 percent use LinkedIn and 21 percent use MySpace. One-in-ten (11 percent) search blogs while 7 percent follow candidates on Twitter. Thirty-five percent of employers reported they have found content on social networking sites that caused them not to hire the candidate. Fourteen percent of employers also disregarded a candidate because thy sent a message using an emoticon such as a smiley face while 16 percent dismissed a candidate for using text language such as GR8 (great) in an e-mail or job application. Eighteen percent of employers reported they have found content on social networking sites that caused them to hire the candidate.

This shows that how beneficial  social media can be for both the employer and the employee. I think its time that employers should start this practice and pick the right people. At least IT and Telecom industries must screen their employees prior hiring them. This can also help job seekers to build up a strong social profile highlighting their academic and professional achievements and maintaining a good relationship with their peers. Social media networks like LinkedIn can actually get job seekers the best job they can think about. Social media is a powerful tool – What both employers and employees need to do is use it in the best way.