Past Social-Media Posts Upend Hiring

Companies attempting to vet potential hires by scrutinizing their social-media histories are coming under fire, reports the Wall Street Journal . The New York Times ' hiring of journalist Sarah Jeong as a technology writer for its editorial board prompted a social-media outcry when past tweets she had posted denigrating white people were cited. A 2017 CareerBuilder poll of more than 2,300 hiring managers and human-resources executives found 70 percent said they screened candidates' social-media histories, compared to 60 percent in 2016. One-third said they had uncovered discriminatory comments that caused them to refrain from hiring someone. However, experts note both too little and too much social-media vetting present legal and reputational problems. Furthermore, few employers have consistent guidelines on how they rate and assess prospective employees' online histories. Companies hiring talent abroad risk breaching digital privacy laws, such as the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation. Moreover, hiring managers studying applicants' Facebook pages and tweets could easily learn other things that could bias hiring decisions that are legally barred from being taken into account. Employment attorney Kate Bischoff advises job seekers to delete offensive comments in the hopes they do not resurface.