Employers: think before you click
STUART
RUDNER
Over the past few weeks, the
notion of employers forcing job-seekers to hand over the “keys”
to their social media accounts
has captured headlines across
North America.
Stories of companies in the
United States requiring candidates to provide log-in credentials for websites such as Facebook caused an uproar and
debate regarding how far employers can, or should, go in screening
applicants online.
Social media, and the Internet
more generally, can provide a
wealth of information about job
candidates. When it is publicly
available, there is little debate
that employers have the right to
access it. However, they should
be cautious and use the informa-
tion obtained responsibly. As a
starting point, it is advisable to
adopt protocols for online/social
media research, so that they
don’t, for example, “Google” one
candidate while researching
another on LinkedIn.
