is ethical to view applicants social media pages as a part o

is ethical to view applicants\' social media pages as a part of the hiring process? Why or Why not

Solution

Recruitment is the process by which applicants are attracted, assessed and selected for particular job based on his or her skills, knowledge and experience.

Before hiring a candidate for the particular job by an employer, the candidate go through several tests, interviews, assessment and background check. This is generally done to check whether the skill sets of the candidate is matching with that of the job requirement and how well the candidate will exhibit his performance. This is also done to check the behavior and attitude of individual which is very much essential for creating a positive work environment. Also, the interview and back ground check helps the employer to identify whether the candidate will fit into the organization culture and working style. So, it is ethical for a prospective employer to conduct interviews, test and background investigation in order to know the person better and how he or she will be beneficial for the organization.

Different social media attract their audience because it is a platform where people get to interact with each other easily. Social media helps in reflecting their life to others and make people get connected to each other where they can share their views and thought process. Example Facebook and Twitter helps people to share their views and thoughts and make them stay connected.

Employer can take advantage of social media. Apart from reviewing only the resume, employers can review their social media profile, their interest etc. and link those to the skills and talents the applicant has for that particular job. Recruiter can also advertise about the job in a very innovative way in social media sites to grab their attention

Many employers are rejecting applicants based on the social media post or negative comments. This is done by them to do a background check. There are no laws as such against this act. Though this is an unethical practice however it is important for the applicant or person to manage their online image appropriately because approximately 70% of the employers do pre-employment check of an applicant through social media.