In a time when social media is the norm, it's no surprise that many companies are screening applicants' online profiles before considering hiring them. This is a great way to screen out candidates who might not fit the position well. However, social media profiling can be a risky practice. It can expose candidates to discrimination based on their protected class characteristics (e.g., race, religion, gender, age, or disability), leading to legal issues that could end the employment process.  Employers are increasingly using social media for recruiting and screening, but hiring managers need to ensure that they're conducting the screening in a transparent and fair manner. Ken Hurley explained that The use of social media for recruiting should be limited to the extent that it's necessary for the position and that any information obtained from the social media profile is only used in assessing the applicant's qualifications.

A recent study by Van Iddekinge et al. found that assessing job seekers' social media accounts did not significantly improve recruiter evaluations. The content on their profiles was largely unrelated to their qualifications for the jobs they applied for. It also revealed that hiring managers' judgments of applicants' overall personalities were influenced by their evaluation of their social media profiles, which may conflict with their actual personalities.

Some recruitment specialists advise against screening job candidates' social media profiles. They point out that these profiles may be a great way to learn more about a candidate's hobbies and personal life, but they are not a substitute for an interview or a resume. Moreover, they say that social media profiles are often forged. This means hiring decision-makers might have a false impression of the candidate's personality and skills, which could negatively impact their recruitment decisions.

This is especially true of Facebook, where anyone connected to that account can see a person's profile photo. Therefore, it's important to ask your applicant if they're willing to make any changes to their social media profile that might affect their application for the job. Other alternatives to social media profiles for hiring are a background check and references. A background check will ensure that a candidate's resume information is accurate and complete. At the same time, references will give you the confidence that an employer has hired someone who is a good match for the position.

A background check will cost you a bit of money, but it will save you from hiring an employee who doesn't fit in well with your organization. It can also help you find a candidate with the skills needed for the job and who can efficiently perform the role's duties. While hiring decision-makers have screened applicants' social media profiles for years, it’s a practice that has been scrutinized recently. This has occurred due to concerns about the validity of these profiles and the ability to determine a candidate’s character and qualifications based on their social media accounts.