Social Media Background Checks in Hiring

A resume can tell an employer where someone has worked, what skills they claim to possess, and what qualifications they have.

Publicly available social media information might demonstrate professional interests, industry engagement, portfolios, communication patterns, and other information that supports verifying details provided elsewhere. At the same time, this does not suggest that recruiters should scrutinize every aspect of a candidate's digital life. A properly executed social media background check should have a clearly defined purpose focused on information relevant to the vacancy and consistent with privacy and employment laws. Used appropriately, as part of a wider recruitment process, social media information can enhance personnel screening. When misused, it could introduce bias, privacy issues and lead to poor hiring decisions. This guide discusses best practices for performing social media background checks, explores what information may be relevant, considers what should be disregarded, and examines the place of social media in the modern candidate screening workflow.

What is a Social Media Background Check?

A social media background check refers to publicly available information on a candidate's online presence.

Depending on the nature of the vacancy, relevant social media information can include professional networking sites, publicly available writings, portfolios, forums, and other resources. An appropriate use of social media background checks in recruitment implies that a recruiter is seeking to confirm details relevant to the vacancy, not to scrutinize aspects of the candidate's personal life. For instance, for a position that involves client-facing interactions, it may be reasonable to ensure that the candidate's public social media presence does not raise any concerns about their suitability for such a role. If the candidate applies for a technical position, a prudent move would be to confirm that the information on their professional network site (LinkedIn, for instance) corresponds with the details they have included on their resume.

Where Does Social Media Screening Fit In?

Social media screening is not typically used as the primary stage of candidate screening.

The process of identifying a suitable candidate usually begins with a discussion of the requirements of the vacancy. Having established these, the recruiter can use them as the basis of evaluating applications received, usually focusing on resumes and cover letters, to select those who meet the requirements. If there is a greater volume of applicants, it may be beneficial to implement applicant tracking system to assist with the screening of resumes received to identify those who appear to meet the requirements of the vacancy. Having narrowed the field of candidates, recruiters can engage in a more in-depth assessment of those who have made it to the shortlist.

Why Do Recruiters Perform Social Media Background Checks?

There is more than one legitimate reason for a recruiter to perform a social media background check of a candidate.

1. To Verify Information Provided

Information found on a candidate's public social media profiles can be used to confirm employment history, qualifications, or other details provided by the applicant. In cases where an obvious discrepancy is found, it is usually best to ask the candidate to clarify. Differences between information on a resume and a candidate's public LinkedIn page, for instance, do not necessarily indicate dishonesty or unprofessionalism on the candidate's part. It is entirely possible for a candidate to update their resume or professional network page and miss synchronizing the two. If there is a reason to believe that the candidate may be deliberately providing inaccurate information, the best course of action would be to ask them to explain the discrepancy.

2. To Identify Any Professional Projects or Work

If the vacancy requires specific skills, candidates may include relevant details of their professional experience on their public social media. For instance, for a design vacancy, candidates may have samples of their design work on their public LinkedIn pages or professional portfolio sites. These can be used to supplement the information provided on a resume.

3. To Highlight Any Concerns Regarding the Candidate

As mentioned above, if the vacancy involves direct customer interaction, it may be relevant to ascertain that the candidate does not have a history of public disrespectful conduct towards customers on their social media. It is important to note that any such concerns need to be applied consistently, to all shortlisted candidates. If a customer-facing vacancy requires constant client interaction, one candidate's history of a single disrespectful comment may not be sufficient reason to reject them. However, if the pattern of comments is consistent and recent, that may be a legitimate concern in screening this candidate.

4. To Enable a More Rounded Assessment of the Candidate

Social media information should not be the sole criterion for selecting a candidate, but it can be used to supplement the information received via resume, cover letter, and interview. If the volume of applications is high enough that a manual assessment of each is impractical, it may be beneficial to implement resume screening software to identify the most promising candidates to shortlist for interviews.

Is Social Media Screening Legal?

The legality of social media screening depends on several factors.

The relevant employment laws will vary depending on the country of jurisdiction. It is essential to consult legal resources specific to one's country and the nature of the information requested. The following is a general overview of the relevant legal considerations in the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

United States

The EEOC guidelines on employer background checks state that any employer that uses background screening information must comply with federal employment discrimination laws. The EEOC guidance on employment background checks provides additional details on the legal considerations relevant to background screening information in general and social media information in particular.

The FTC guidance for employers discusses background reporting agencies, obtaining candidate consent and taking actions based on report findings.

United Kingdom

The Information Commissioner's Office provides guidance on pre-employment vetting and social media use. According to the ICO guidance on pre-employment vetting, employers must be able to justify the relevance of a social media check and remember that public information can contain personal data.

Other Countries 

Recruiters operating internationally should not assume that a process that is acceptable in one jurisdiction is necessarily acceptable everywhere.

With differing privacy, discrimination, consent, and data retention rules across geographies, organisations that hire globally should ensure they receive appropriate legal counsel before launching a standardised social media screening process.

How to Conduct a Social Media Background Check Responsibly

A consistent approach to these checks eases defensibility and minimises the risk of irrelevant information getting in the way of making a decision.

Step 1: Understand Why the Social Media Check is Being Performed

Decide on the role first, then consider how a social media background check could provide value to the recruitment process.

If a role, for example, requires a significant amount of public interaction, an organisation might decide to perform limited social media screening to assess the candidate's public persona.

If a recruitment team cannot determine the value of a social media background check for a specific role, it may not be wise to perform the check.

Step 2: Establish Criteria Prior to Searching

Avoid the trap of opening candidate's social media profiles and then deciding what is and isn't a concern. Decide on the criteria for the social media background check first, then assess each candidate against the same standard.

Step 3: Ensure Transparency When Required

Transparency is an important consideration for conducting social media screening ethically.

When it is necessary and allowed by local law, candidates should be informed that a background check of this nature will take place, and why it is being performed.

Step 4: Only Review Publicly Available Information

Do not ask for social media login details, and do not attempt to circumvent privacy settings. Avoid using dummy accounts to view content that is not publicly available. Do not encourage candidates to accept friend or follow requests from your organisation's social media accounts simply so that you can view content to which they would not otherwise have access. A responsible professional background screening process has clearly-defined parameters.

Step 5: Confirm That You Are Reviewing the Correct Candidate Profile

Many people share the same name, so ensure the professional details on a social media profile match those provided by the candidate.

Employment history, location, education, industry, and other non-sensitive factors may be utilised to confirm that the correct person's social media content is under review. Never assume that your candidate is the only person with that name who maintains a social media profile.

Social Media Red Flags Recruiters May Need to Review Essay

The phrase red flag should be used carefully.

A recruiter is not seeking to make a moral judgment about the candidate's opinions, lifestyle or personality.

Issues should be identified on the basis of relevance to the position and potential impact on the workplace.

Concerns that may be material to the position decision include the following.

Serious Harassment

Publicly harassing or threatening others may be a concern in a workplace context.

Discriminatory Conduct

Evidence of a recent public post containing serious discriminatory or offensive content may be a concern, particularly for positions involving customer interaction, management responsibilities or working with diverse groups.

Significant Professional Misrepresentation

Publicly available information contradicting key elements of the application may be relevant to the accuracy of the information provided by the candidate.

Disclosure of Confidential Information

A pattern of disclosing confidential information may be a concern for positions involving client trust or handling of proprietary information.

Public Threats or Serious Workplace Misconduct

Direct threats or evidence of misconduct should be followed up as a potential security risk.

The presence of a single concerning post does not necessarily indicate immediate disqualification but requires additional consideration.

Positive Signals Recruiters Can Also Notice

Social media screening should not be used exclusively for finding reasons to dismiss candidates.

An applicant's social media presence can contain relevant posts demonstrating professional competence.

Industry Participation

Some candidates participate in discussions about current developments in the profession.

Projects

Professionals often post information about side projects, research, open source contributions, portfolio pieces and professional writing.

Communication

Applicant's communication style and abilities can be evaluated on the basis of public discourse.

Learning and Development

Candidates often publicize training, certifications, conferences attended or new skills acquired that may not yet appear on the resume.

Community Contribution

Mentoring activities, volunteering, and other forms of community involvement can be relevant for certain professions.

Such signals can be used to ask the candidate thoughtful questions but should not overshadow objective factors like proven accomplishments and qualifications.

Social Media Screening Versus CV Screening

Each serves a distinct purpose.

CV screening asks if the candidate's qualifications and experience are a fit for the vacancy.

Social media screening, where appropriate, can provide limited additional insight on publicly available professional information or role related risks.

Each has a part to play in the recruitment process, but neither should be the sole arbiter of candidate selection.

Using CV Shortlister, recruiters can compare a candidate's CV against a particular job description and see applicants in ranked order.

Common Social Media Screening Mistakes

Reviewing Every Applicant Without a Specific Purpose

A simple desire to learn more about a candidate is not the same thing as a specific recruitment purpose.

Assessing Too Early On in the Recruitment Process

Looking at personal social media content before looking at the professional credentials of the candidate can introduce bias.

Looking at One Post and Assuming it Reflects the Whole Person

A random comment many years ago rarely provides the full insight you need to understand what someone does in the modern workplace.

Failing to Spot Identity Issues

With similar-sounding names and similar-looking images, it is easy to confuse one person for another.

Applying Inconsistent Standards to Different Candidates

A careful assessment for one applicant and a superficial glance for another represents poor quality control.

Making Assumptions Based on Personal Likes and Dislikes

Recruiters should make assumptions based on professional criteria, not on whether they would enjoy meeting the candidate at a social event.

Storing Unnecessary Information About a Candidate

Just because it was easy to find, does not mean that it is useful to the hiring process.

A Practical Screening Framework

For organisations that decide that social media screening is right for them, here is a simple guide.

Relevance

Is there a direct link between the piece of information and the vacancy?

Reliability

Can you be confident that the piece of information is both genuine and correctly attributed?

Recency

Is the piece of information up to date enough to be a true reflection of the candidate's current attitudes or actions?

Consistency

Are you applying the same process to every candidate that you are considering for the role?

Context

Have you taken into account why the message was sent or the circumstances around it?

Fairness

Could the information be potentially discriminatory based on any other protected characteristics?

Verification

Would it be helpful or necessary to contact the candidate and ask them to explain the information?

Proportionality

Does the information really warrant any action or does it outweigh any possible benefits from the candidate's application?

Best Practices for Recruiters

There are a few best practices that can help recruiters make responsible decisions when conducting social media screening.

• Always have a legitimate reason for conducting the review
• develop screening criteria before looking at any candidate profiles,
• research employment and privacy laws,
• disclose the process to candidates where necessary,
• limit the review to relevant publicly available information,
• do not attempt to access private profiles or ask for passwords,
• apply the same process to other comparable candidates,
• protect recruiters from unwarranted exposure to sensitive information where possible,
• verify key information prior to taking any action,
• offer candidates an opportunity to explain questionable information,

and only retain the information that is genuinely needed for recruitment records. Never let social media findings override proper assessment of skills, qualifications and experience.

Final Thoughts

Social media background checks can be a valuable source of additional information, but their value depends entirely on how they are conducted.

The goal should not be to investigate every aspect of a candidate's digital footprint.

The true objective should be to make a well informed recruitment decision based on relevant, reliable and fair evidence.

A good hiring process always starts with defined job requirements and structured candidate screening. Social media review, when legally justified and genuinely useful, should come later as one small part of a wider assessment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can employers check a candidate's social media?

Employers may be able to review publicly available social media information, but the rules vary depending on the jurisdiction and the way the information is gathered and used. Always research privacy, discrimination and background screening laws before initiating social media checks.

Should candidates give recruiters access to private social media accounts?

In general recruiters should limit screening to information that is legitimately accessible. Attempts to bypass privacy settings or asking candidates for account passwords may raise serious privacy and ethical concerns.

Can a candidate be rejected because of a social media post?

Potentially relevant online information should be part of a wider recruitment assessment, but decisions should not be made based on casual or irrelevant personal content. Always consider reliability, context, job relevance, applicable law and whether the candidate should be given an opportunity to explain.

Which social platforms should recruiters check?

There is no universal list. The choice of platform should be relevant to the purpose of the review and the role. LinkedIn may be useful for professional history, GitHub may be relevant for some technical positions and portfolio websites may matter for creative roles. Recruiters should not search platforms simply because they exist.

Should recruiters check every applicant?

Not necessarily. Always have a defined purpose for social media screening. In many recruitment processes it makes more sense to identify suitable candidates by analyzing CVs and then conduct any additional justified checks at a later stage.

Can social media replace references or background checks?

No. Social media information can be incomplete, out of date, misleading or associated with the wrong person. It should always be considered as supplementary information rather than a replacement for interviews, references, qualification verification or formal background checks.

How can recruiters reduce bias during social media screening?

Use predefined criteria, apply the same process consistently and separate the person conducting the social review from the final decision maker where practical. Only job relevant findings should be passed onto decision makers.

Is social media screening useful for every job?

No. The need should be dictated by the role and the risks associated with it. If there is no clear recruitment purpose for reviewing social media, conducting the check may offer little value while raising privacy and bias concerns.