Facebook footprint: How to handle a recruiter social media stalking you

Most people have ‘online stalked’ someone by searching their name in Google, Facebook or Instagram. But, how would you react if you discovered a potential employer did so?

Organisations are increasingly using online information about job applicants to inform their hiring decisions. Most employees believe, however, that they have a right to a private online identity that hirers should not have access to.

What is profiling?

Profiling is when managers look at social media sites and search engines to collect information about current and prospective employees, in order to inform hiring and firing decisions. From these searches they can learn important details about you such as what you look like, how you communicate with others, and probably most important to them, if you seem like the right kind of person for the role. Recruiters often look out for inappropriate comments or images, levels of education, interests and lifestyle choices, on potential employees’ social media accounts.

Up to 50% of Human Resource Managers across Australia and the UK routinely use profiling during hiring decisions, with three quarters admitting the information leads them to disqualify applicants. This practice has become an increasingly controversial issue, highlighting just one of the many ways social media has blurred the boundaries between public and private identity.

Profiling and the public/ private boundary

There are two common arguments fighting against each other in the profiling realm: the right of job applicants to keep their online persona concealed from recruiters, and the right of hirers to monitor employees in order to maximise productivity and reduce reputational risk.

The notion of privacy is constantly challenged in a social media world, where there are no physical boundaries that outline behaviour and ownership. Privacy is also no longer individualistic, when others can share information about you that can defy your personal social media settings. Potential employees who create digital personas online are technically communicating in a public realm, but despite its ‘public status’, employees’ personal information used in screening contravenes their right to a private identity.

With social media we have seen context collapse in the workplace, where two seemingly different audiences, our peers and colleagues, have largely become one. So, as employees we face a number of decisions regarding these different contexts including how to maintain the boundary between the personal and professional life, whether it be through what we post or who we connect with.

Should they only be allowed to look at LinkedIn?

As we all know, this social media platform is about professional networking, and even provides opportunities for job seekers to find work. This career-oriented profile is much less of a risk to your employment opportunities compared to recruiters accessing a more socially-oriented platform such as Facebook.

Social media networks and the affordances provided by them, shape the identities created on the sites. People strategically craft their profiles and are very aware of how they use these media, presenting themselves differently based on their perceived audience. This can be especially prominent when comparing their ‘in real life’ persona to their professional persona, as directly reflected in a Facebook vs LinkedIn profile. Individuals often modify their identity in the workplace, adjusting their normal behaviour in order to be accepted by colleagues. In the same way, people highly filter their self-presentation on LinkedIn to display this idealised self. This is the exact reason an employer screens other social media profiles, to find out ‘who you really are’.

Well, what should I do?

Today, culture fit is more important than skill sets, so every social media profile might as well be the same as your LinkedIn. It is highly understandable why there is a sudden increase in the profiling practice. It is safest to assume everything you post online can be exposed, even if you have a semi-private profile.

You can choose what profiles reflect certain aspects of yourself, and ones that are for viewing by the public. Each profile does not have to show a full version of yourself. Crank up the privacy setting on the ones you do not want viewed from future colleagues. You can create private photo albums, or filter the audience who views your Instagram story. Keep all personal jokes that could be misinterpreted to more private sites like Snapchat. While terms of privacy constantly change on sites like Facebook, take control of privacy at the point of posting, rather than assuming you are safe from the public eye.

Reflect your idealised self on all social networks, as they all, not just LinkedIn, are seen as additions to your résumé.