If you think your last snarky Tweet is just living in an internet abyss, think again.
New survey findings from Resume Builder revealed that 7 in 10 hiring managers admit to spying on social media to get answers to illegal interview questions. The recently released report consisted of responses from 1,013 employees regarding hiring decisions and how they use social media to inform who is considered for the job.
Some of the most staggering results pointed to the heavy reliance on social media in leadership including 74% of hiring managers say they use social media to screen candidates. Of this group, 55% say they look at social media to ensure the candidate is a good culture fit.
“Job applicants need to be cognizant that everything they post publicly can be found by a potential employer, who may base hiring decisions off this information, or even a current employer,” says Stacie Haller, chief career advisor at ResumeBuilder.com in a statement. “One safeguard of course is making your accounts private. But even if anyone feels that they have been discriminated against in the hiring process, it may be appropriate to consult an attorney.”
One of the most surprising findings from the report is that more than half of hiring managers use social media to find answers to illegal interview questions and a majority (85%) of those who use screen using social media have passed on candidates due to information obtained.
“In my years of recruiting, it is mostly at smaller companies where people are not properly trained or don’t have proper oversight, that you see illegal questions being asked during the interview process,” Haller said in the report. “I have had to often counsel hiring managers on this very issue. They ask me questions about candidates, which would be illegal to ask directly to a candidate and are discriminatory in nature, in hopes to find out information about a candidate that is not at all relevant to their ability to perform well at the job. I have to inform them that these questions are discriminatory and often illegal.”
She continued: “However, even if hiring managers already know or learn it’s illegal to ask certain questions, it doesn’t mean they won’t resort to finding the information elsewhere. Choosing not to hire a candidate based on finding answers to questions they could not is extremely unethical and grounds for legal action.”