A few years ago a background check was the only resource to check an employee's obscure secrets. Nowadays, social networks have replaced this obsolete practice. Networks like Facebook and LinkedIn tell you more about a candidate than you may want to know.
The problem is that there is a los of easy information to gather out there and companies might not know how and when to use it correctly.
Every career services lecture I've ever attended, made it clear: no picture, no religion, no sexual option on your CV; it's ilegal. Protected information they say. Protected?
However, even though it's illegal to ask a candidate for this information, social networks facilitate the task. What you need to do is receive the candidate's resume and start using SNA analysis to your advantage.
By using networks like Facebook, you can find out how the candidate looks, does he/she likes to party? Is he/she gay or straight? Is she pregnant and will I have to incur in extra expenses? or any other piece of information. Also, focusing and measuring the types of relationships the candidate has, might let you know what other assets the candidate has. Go to LinkedIn, check the candidate's profile and see what conncections he/she has. Maybe the social network he/she carries might bring more added value to your business than the skills he/she posses.
However, (this is the pro bono advice) never use social networks as your last resource to make the decision. It's perfectly legal if you use a public information prior to the interviews. Nevertheless, if you have already interviewed the candidate and at the end you find out something that doesn't please you, you can't use it. This is were it gets illegal.
3 comments:
OK, we know that employers use SM like FB and LI to find out about prospectice employees and that they can buy greater access than we mere free-users can get. There are lots of posts on this blog and on the web on the subject. But after a course on SNO, you might have reflected on how can they use SNA to gain insight from this enhanced, networked info? What kind of network questions would get them this insight? Etc.
I would have also liked to see more on the "how" -- how exactly would you go about obtaining this information? Would this just mean scrolling through their facebook page, or would you be using certain measures?
I'm also curious about the "why" -- why would something like gender or sexual orientation matter to a business?
I would be more curious in the candidate's friend network-- are they friends with people in the industry? Could they bring in potential clients? Might they access information that might be of use to the company?
Candidates bring their knowledge networks to the position. I think a far more productive use of SNA in hiring would be to look at this access to knowledge, rather than to attempt to skirt legal requirements to figure out whether a woman is pregnant or the sexual preferences of a potential hire.
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