Any business with available positions always wants to attract and retain top talent. Not only are they constantly on the lookout for the most qualified people, but they want to make sure they’re also avoiding situations like potential theft, criminal behavior, and more – all of which can harm a company’s reputation irreparably. Background checks go a long way towards helping to achieve precisely that.
But at the same time, things have changed dramatically over the last decade. Someone’s resume is important, yes – but it only tells one part of a much larger story. It’s equally important to get a glimpse of how someone behaves when they believe nobody is watching, for which social media screening is designed.
But what is a social media background check? What does a social media background check consist of? Does this level of background screening shed valuable light on the online presence of job applicants? The answers to questions like these and more require you to keep a few key things in mind.
What is a Social Media Background Check?
At its core, a social media background check is exactly what it sounds like – an opportunity to dive deep into a candidate’s online activity based on their posting on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more.
By examining what they post and how they behave on these types of sites, you’re in the best position to identify the types of behavior that would make someone a poor fit for your company as it exists. A social media background check can help weed out poor language, explicit content, hate speech, and more – all to give you a better indication of “who someone is” in a way that their resume alone never could.
Why Should You Do a Pre-Employment Social Media Screening?
By far, the biggest benefit that a pre-employment social media screening brings is how it confirms whether someone is an ideal fit for your unique company culture. Even asking detailed questions in a job interview won’t uncover certain warning signs present by looking at their social media presence and other online activity.
But more than anything, it gives you an ideal chance to learn more about who a candidate is and what their personality is like – all so that you can guarantee they’ll be an ideal fit for the company you’ve already worked so hard to build.
Best Practices When Social Media Screening
What does a social media background check consist of? A pre-employment social media screening needs to be all-encompassing for the best results. This means that you’re looking for more than just activity on prominent, popular sites like Facebook and Twitter. You also need to examine LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat, and more to paint the most vivid picture possible about who someone is and how they might behave while employed.
You also need to ensure that you’re screening for a wide range of different types of potentially questionable content. Not just illegal or violent behavior, although those are very important. You should also pay close attention to things like discriminant behavior, sexual behavior, instances of professional misconduct, and more.
How to Screen with KarmaCheck
One of the major benefits of screening via KarmaCheck – both for social media screening and traditional background checks – comes from the lightning-fast turnaround time you will experience.
Most traditional background check services take a great deal of time, which is difficult when A) you’re trying to fill a position quickly, and B) a candidate may have more than one job opportunity that they’re interested in. KarmaCheck helps provide you with the invaluable, actionable information you need to make a decision right away – thus ensuring you’ll never lose a hire ever again.
Do background checks show social media? Some background check providers do not offer this level of service, but most recruiters these days are interested in this area of screening. If you’re interested in social media screening, KarmaCheck offers fast and thorough background checks. In addition to social media background checks you also get criminal background checks, occupational health screenings, ID verifications, hard-to-find verifications, and more – all coupled with the continuous monitoring you need to guarantee that if anything changes, you’ll know about it immediately.
Screening with KarmaCheck could not be more accessible. In addition to a best-in-class mobile first experience, you also get a customized dashboard that shows you the real-time progress of all checks for current candidates, guaranteeing that you have everything you need to make the most accurate and informed hiring decisions as quickly as possible – precisely the way it should be.
In the end, the answer to the question “do recruiters look at social media?” is a resounding “yes” – and with good reason. It gives you a legitimate glimpse into someone’s personality in a way that helps you understand whether they’ll represent your company and its values or whether they could cause a potentially tricky situation down the road. This, coupled with information obtained during the interview process and on someone’s resume, are invaluable for ensuring that someone is the best fit for an available position moving forward.
If you’d like to find out more information about why pre-employment social media screening is the key to hiring and retaining top talent, or if you just have any additional questions that you’d like to go over with someone in a bit more detail, please don’t delay – contact the team at KarmaCheck today.
