CONDUCTING PRE-EMPLOYMENT BACKGROUND CHECKS THROUGH SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES: THE NEW ROLE OF HR PROFESSIONALS

Authors

  • Md Sajjad Hosain Sichuan University, Business School, Chengdu, China
  • Ping Liu Sichuan University, Business School, Chengdu, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5937/bizinfo1902111S

Keywords:

Social media, Social networking sites, Information, HR professionals, Pre-employment background check, Job candidate

Abstract

The paper aims at identifying the role of social networking information on pre-employment background check practices with the help of existing literature. As the HR professionals are central in hiring process, they need to be aware of the practices and policies regarding this issue. Using social media information in background checking process is a fairly new practice and there is not enough evidence on what to do and how to do. This paper is expected to fill that gap to some extent. At the end of the paper, some policy recommendations have been provided for HR professionals involved with pre-employment background checking process which will help the recruiters or HR professionals to avoid any unexpected consequences.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Baumhart, P. B.m 2015. Social media and the job market: How to reconcile applicant privacy with employer needs. University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform, 48(2), pp.502-533.

Berkelaar, B. and Bazzanell, P., 2014. Cybervetting, person-environment fit and personnel selection: Employers’ surveillance and sense making of job applicants’ online information. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 42(4), pp.456-476.

Brandenburg, C., 2008. The newest way to screen job applicants: A social networker's nightmare. Federal Communications Law Journal, 60 (3), pp.597-626.

Brooks, C., 2016. Social screening: What hiring managers look for on social media. [pdf] Available at: <https://www.gcvf.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Social-Screening_-What-Hiring-Managers-Look-for-On-Social-Media.pdf> [Accessed o23 March, 2019].

Brown, V. R. and Vaughn, E. D., 2011. The writing on the (Facebook) wall: The use of social networking sites in hiring decisions. Journal of Business and Psychology, 26, pp.219-225.

Brutocao, S., 2012. Issue spotting: The multitude of ways social media impacts on employment law and litigation, The Advocate, 60, pp.8-10.

Boyd, D. N. and Ellison, N. B., 2007. Social network sites: Definition, history and scholarship. Journal of Computer Mediated Education, 13(1), pp.210-230.

Campion, M. A., Palmer, D. A. and Campion, J. E., 1997. A review of structure in the selection interview. Personnel Psychology, 50, pp.655-702.

Cooley, D. O. and Park-Yancy, R., 2016. Impact of traditional and internet/social media screening mechanisms on employers’ perceptions of job applicants. The Journal of Social Media in Society, 5(3), pp.151-186.

Davison, H. K., Bing, M. N., Kluemper, D. H. and Roth, P. L., 2016. Social media as a personnel selection and hiring resources: Reservations and recommendations. In: R. N. Landers, G. B. Schmidet, R. N. and Landers, G.B. 2016. (Eds.), Social Media in Employee Selection and Recruitment: Theory, Practice and Current Challenges (pp.15-42). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

Elzweig, B. and Peeples, D. K.. 2009. Using social networking web sites in hiring and retention decisions. Advanced Management Journal, pp.27-35.

Egan, E., 2012. (Chief Privacy Officer), Protecting Your Passwords and Privacy. [Facebook] 15 March. Available at: <http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=326598317390057.> [Accessed 15 March, 2019].

Gates, S., 2013. CISPA amendment banning employers from asking for Facebook passwords blocked. [online] Available at: <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cispa-amendment-facebook-passwords-blocked_n_3128507> [Accessed 25 February, 2019].

Gatewood, R. D., Feild, H. S. and Barrick, M., 2008. Human Resource Selection (6th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western.

Ghoshray, S., 2013. The emerging reality of social media: Erosion of individual privacy through cyber-vetting and the law’s inability to catch up. Journal of Marshall Review of Intellectual Property Law, 12, pp.551-562.

National Conference of State Legislatures, 2017. Access to social media usernames and passwords. [online] Available at: <http://www.ncsl.org/research/telecommunications-and-information-technology/employer-access-to-social-media-passwords-2013.aspx#2016> [Accessed 17 March, 2019].

Gruzd, A., Jacobson, J. and Dubois, E., 2017. You’re hired: Examining acceptance of social media screening of job applicants. Twenty-third Conference on Information Systems, Boston, May, 2017.

Harrison, J. and Budworth, M. H., 2015. Online presence could affect job seeker’s hiring chances and salary. [online] Available at: <https://news.yorku.ca/2015/07/30/online-presence-could-affect-job-seekers-hiring-chances-and-salary-york-u-study/> [Accessed 22 March, 2019].

Jobvite, 2014. Social recruiting survey. [pdf] Available at: <https://www.jobvite.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Jobvite_SocialRecruiting_Survey2014.pdf> [Accessed 20 March, 2019].

Joyce, S., 2016. The basics of personal online reputation management. Career Planning & Adult Development Journal, 32(2), pp.81-87.

Messiah, N., 2012. Survey: 37% of your prospective employers are looking you up on Facebook. [online] Available at: <https://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2012/04/18/survey-37-of-your-prospective-employers-are-looking-you-up-on-facebook/> [Accessed 1 March, 2019].

Ollington, N., Gibb, J., and Harcourt, M., 2013. Online social networks: An emergent recruiter tool for attracting and screening. Personnel Review, 42(3), pp.248-265.

Park-Yancy, R. and Cooley, D., 2015. Are you making the right impression? Preparing now for your real life after college. Wilmette, IL: Decabooks LLC.

Ramasastry, A., 2012. Can employers legally ask you for your Facebook password when you apply for a job? Why congress and the state should prohibit this practice. Verdict. [online] Available at: <https://verdict.justia.com/2012/03/27/can-employers-legally-ask-you-for-your-facebook-password-when-you-apply-for-a-job> [Accessed 5 March, 2019].

Saylin, G. and Horrocks, T., 2013. The risks of pre-employment social media screening. SHRM. [online] Available at: <https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/preemployment-social-media-screening.aspx> [Accessed 27 February, 2019].

Segal, J. A., 2017. Legal trends social media use in hiring: Assessing the risks. HR Magazine. [online] Available at: <https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/pages/0914-social-media-hiring.aspx> [Accessed 10 March, 2019].

Segal, J. A., 2014. The law and social media in hiring. HR Magazine, 59, pp.70–72.

Slovensky, R. and Ross, W. H., 2012. Should human resource managers use social media to screen job applicants? Managerial and legal issues in the USA. Info, 14(1), pp.55-69.

Stoughton, J. W., Thompson, L. F. and Meade, A. W., 2015. Examining applicant reactions to the use of social networking websites in pre-employment screening. Journal of Business and Psychology, 30(1), pp.73-88.

Suder, S., 2014. Pre-employment background checks on social networking sites-May your boss be watching. Masaryk University Journal of Law and Technology, 8(1), pp.123-136.

Tham, J. and Ahmed, N., 2011. The usage and implications of social media networking sites: A survey on college students. Journal of Interpersonal, Intercultural and Mass Communication, 2(1), pp.1-11.

Statista, 2017. Percentage of U.S. population who currently use any social media from 2008 to 2017. Statista. [online] Available at: <https://www.statista.com/statistics/273476/percentage-of-us-population-with-a-social- network-profile/> [Accessed 1 April, 2019].

Van Iddekinge, C. H., Lanivich, S. E., Roth, P. L. and Junco, E., 2013. Social media for selection? Validity and adverse impact potential of a Facebook-based assessment. Journal of Management, 42(7), pp.1811-1835.

Waring, R. L. and Buchanan, F. R., 2010. Social networking web sites: The legal and ethical aspects of pre-employment screening and employee surveillance. Journal of Human Resources Education, 4(2), pp.14-23.

Weathington, B. L. and Bechtel, A., 2012. Alternative sources of information and the selection decision-making processes. Journal of Behavior and Applied Management, 13 (2), pp.108-120.

Willey, L., White, B. J., Domagalski, T. and Ford, J. C., 2012. Candidate screening, information technology and the law: Social media considerations. Issues in Information Systems, 13(1), pp.300-309.

Yarbrough, J. R., 2018. Is cybervetting ethical? An overview of legal and ethical issues. Journal of Ethical and Legal Issues, 11, pp.1-23

Zeidner, R., 2007. How deep can you probe? HR Magazine, 52(10), pp.57-60.

Downloads

Published

2019-12-26

How to Cite

Hosain, M. S., & Liu, P. (2019). CONDUCTING PRE-EMPLOYMENT BACKGROUND CHECKS THROUGH SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES: THE NEW ROLE OF HR PROFESSIONALS. BizInfo (Blace) Journal of Economics, Management and Informatics, 10(2), 111–123. https://doi.org/10.5937/bizinfo1902111S