Using the Internet to Cyber-Vet Job Applicants

Recruiters enter a vigorous interviewing, reference checking and screening process when considering potential candidates for a job.  However the scrutiny has extended beyond the traditional short-listing and screening process to a much easier means of filtering out true industry experts from opportunists in the job market.

The invent of internet networking sites has provided a new avenue through which employers can assess job candidates.  Recruiters are in increasingly resorting to ‘cyber-vetting' job applicants as part of the recruitment process.

In today's job market, it is not just prospective candidates that are ‘Googling' target employers before making decisions on whether or not to accept a new position. The Internet is fast becoming a primary source for finding information about people online and Internet users (job applicants) are quickly coming to terms with the reality that their future employers can very simply 'Google' them or look them up on Facebook to find more information about who they are and the social networks that they are involved in. 

The Truth about Cyber-Vetting

Employers and recruiters are ‘cyber vetting' potential candidates and are either digging for dirt, or looking for confirmation that the job seekers is in fact an expert in their said field.  With so many individuals involved in online social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, a job seeker's internet reputation (‘Net-Rep') is becoming almost as important as their employment references. And to think, they're just a few clicks away.

One of the frightening truths about the Internet is that whatever goes up there stays up there. Whether it's an angry ex's Blog outburst, or a slightly revealing photograph that may have found its way anonymously onto Flickr. All of this may sit right next to professional endorsements and expert commentary that the job seeker may have been cited for. An applicant's entire reputation could very easily land up on the Internet.

A poll of 500 employers conducted by a recruitment agency last year found that two thirds admitted to regularly carrying out internet searches, including checking out social networking sites on their employees and job applicants. At the same time an even larger poll of 2,000 workers and 600 employers by a social networking site reported that one in five organisations were conducting similar searches, whereas a quarter of these had rejected job applicants as a result of the what they uncover during the cyber vetting process. 

Is Cyber-Vetting Legal

Cyber-vetting unveils personal web pages on which applicants reveal their true interests, likes, dislikes believes and aspirations.  By flicking between the job seeker's personal pages a recruiter can easily put together a perception of the job seeker. While it may not necessarily be illegal to snoop around an applicants privacy on their own homepages, recruiters should be aware that they may not get into trouble for taking into account a person's hobbies when considering suitability for a position, however they could very well be faced with claims that they job applicant was regretted on the grounds of discrimination of race, age, marital status or even sexual preferences - depending on how much information is revealed about the applicant on the web.   Lawyers advise that although it may not be unlawful to cyber-vet job applicants, recruiters must ensure that their decisions are based on relevant criteria.

Cyber-vetting Guidelines

Jobs.co.za offers some cautionary guidelines to company's considering using the internet to run checks on job applicants.

• Ensure that you use whatever information you have uncovered about your job applicant or employee is treated with great care to avoid any hint of unlawful discrimination in their decision-making.
• Job requirements should be justifiable by reference to the job in question and companies should not indirectly discriminate against any candidates. The key is whether the information is relevant to the job seeker's ability to do the job.
• If you have declined a job seeker based on information found on the Internet, ensure that you have documented the entire process and keep thorough notes of the interview process - including the questions and answers and impressions at the interview.
• Ensure that the entire recruitment process is adhered to in accordance with legislative requirements.
• Provide the job applicant with feedback on the interview. Do not refuse feedback on the interview process should they ask for it. This should reduce the risk of an implication that they were rejected on the grounds of any form of discrimination.
• Do not consider the applicant's personal life unless it is directly relevant to the job and provides any reason for deeming that aspect of the applicants life to have a direct impact on the job itself, or the job seeker's ability to do the job.

Source: Madge Gibson, a partner at Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters