We have previously discussed googling for applicant information. According to a recent news item, the City of Bozeman, MT, takes this to a new extreme. According to the news item, and also our good friends at HR Tests:
Looking for a way to turn off qualified applicants in one easy step? The City of Bozeman, MT may have put its finger on it. Turns out they have had–for several years–a requirement that all applicants seeking a position with the City must, after a conditional job offer that required a background check, turn over their ID and passwords for all social networks they’re on, including Facebook and Twitter. After a firestorm of criticism, they decided to suspend the policy pending “a more comprehensive evaluation.”
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Here is what I would like to know. How does a person who *says* they do not engage in such sites demonstrate that they don’t to the satisfaction of the employer? And how does the employer determine that the candidate/employee’s declaration of non-participation is bona fide. Moreover, if one declares to the employer that one HAS no facebook/myspace/whatever social networking presence, and then decides to engage in such matters at a later date, post-hire, is that something the employer can then hold against you? Is it, in that sense, like those situations where applicants have to be demonstrably non-smoking for the duration of employment, on and off-site? Is the candidate required to inform the potential employer of their participation in anythng that *approximates* a social networking site, or similar web-presence, such as on-line forums or blogs (e.g., this one) or the GovLoop site?
I suppose, at one level, it seems like a simple solution to just ask for the person’s social-networking page rather than scour the web for them. At another level, though, it seems to me that whoever thought this one up in Bozeman, did not put enough thought into it.
Mark, As always excellent and thoughtful questions. I would guess we will be learning the answer in the coming months and years. It is easy to predict we will have a lot more to say on this issue. If anything, this topic of cyber vetting seems like it is going to increase in importance, especially for those of us involved with recruitment and selection.