In the context of advanced technologies, modern recruiters tend to use social media in order to optimize the process of selecting the most suitable applicant for the available position. As a result, various networks, including Facebook or LinkedIn, go beyond the boundaries of a communication tool and acquire the status of a job seeking platform. Personal profiles in social media give a better understanding of who the person really is and what set of values and interests he/she supports. However, the idea of interfering into somebody’s personal space and imposing non-work related characteristics on the professional aspect of life and carrier development is still open for debate (Smith, 2013).
In my opinion, the practice of screening social profiles of people before hiring them for any position has its benefits. According to the surveys, the major motives for conducting such an in-depth research include the desire to evaluate the level of professionalism in behavior, the correspondence of a candidate to the corporate culture of a company, and the flexibility of personal qualifications (Smith, 2013). The things that immediately catch recruiter’s attention and help him or her in shaping the general image of a person can be, for instance, provocative photos or posted comments. Of course, all judgments might be subjective but I would not offer the position of a taxi driver to a person, who has photos of himself driving a car with a bottle of beer posted somewhere in the web. I also like the possibility of learning more about somebody’s achievements from an independent and unbiased source, like blog discussions or congratulation posts.
Already now, people prefer sending digital copies of their resumes and having interviews over the phone or Skype. In future, we may face the situation when tete-a-tete meetings are abandoned at all. I am convinced that recruiters and people working in the area of human resource management should not put themselves into rigid frames but opt for a general and all inclusive evaluation of applicants.
References
Smith, J. (2013, April 16). How Social Media Can Help (Or Hurt) You In Your Job Serch. Retrieved April 08, 2013, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/04/16/how-social-media-can-help-or-hurt-your-job-search/#5ba2bce224fd
