With the increased adoption of social media, many employers have taken to Facebook and Twitter to market their brands and increase market share. As companies evolve, they are finding other uses for social media for recruiting top talent.
Focusing on a candidate’s Social Snapshot provides an accurate picture of the candidate and how they interact with friends, family member and colleagues. Companies still reference a candidates CV to learn about past experiences, but the social snapshot helps to identify a cultural fit.
Is the social snapshot an invasion of privacy? Everyone has privacy settings and should take responsibility for what they deem fit for public review on social media.
What is the efficacy of reviewing social snapshots in selecting top talent?
A specific Social Snapshot is not the only criteria companies look for when recruiting top talent. CVs and references speak volumes for an individual’s scope and ability to perform various tasks. The social snapshot gives insight on if the candidate will be a cultural fit to a particular organization.
What are the legal implications of reviewing Social Snapshots in the recruitment process? Clear notification of Social Snapshots during the application phase, as well as on a company’s career page should be made so applicants know what they are being reviewed on. Also, companies have the right to hire whomever is the best fit for a particular opportunity. Social Snapshots are just another way of detecting components of an individual’s character that go unrecognized in an interview setting.
Social Snapshots, despite the thought of a company spying on its candidates, are a great way to ensure that a company is extending offers to the right people. If a candidate is a great fit and demonstrates the character that is valued at a particular company in his/her everyday interactions with friends and family, then Social Snapshots are no big deal.
If anything, it validates to the hiring manager that their first impression of an individual was accurate. If your communication with those in your everyday life does not match the persona that is presented in an interview, social snapshots can save companies a lot of money and time in sourcing by having another mechanism to detect bad fits for a company’s culture and prevent poor hiring decisions.
