A survivor from the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting massacre in Florida, American pro-gun activist Kyle Kashuv made headlines earlier this year after Harvard University rescinded its admission over his use of racial slurs. After Kashuv wrote the comments on Google Docs for a class study guide and in Skype messages, they were captured and shared to the media by students who knew him. Although the 18-year-old posted an apology about his past behaviour, he still lost a spot at Harvard.
Kashuv is among a number of people who lost great opportunities because of their online activities in the past. While people think Facebook or other social networks are a personal platform and posting there shouldn't have any serious effects, actually whatever is posted is no longer private. Think The Great Hack, a recent documentary on Netflix which reveals the way online data is being weaponised. In the era of social media, all online activities are traceable.
A digital footprint can change people's lives -- for better or worse -- and this is especially the case among job or school applicants.
From a 2018 national US survey by an online job search called CareerBuilder, 70% of employers used social media to screen candidates during recruitment -- a sharp rise from 60% in 2017 and only 11% in 2006. American employers are concerned about how applicants behave online. The survey found that 54% of employers decided not to hire certain candidates due to their social-media content -- with the most problematic types including provocative photos, videos and messages, not to mention posts that criticise previous employers.
Thailand's leading job-search engine, JobsDB, reported that from January until March of last year, 68% of job seekers in the country looked for employment via mobile phones and 32% from computers. Thailand had around 49 million Facebook users, 13.6 million Instagram users and 12 million Twitter last year, according to social-data-monitoring company Thoth Zocial and Partner. However, there is no record as to how many employers actually screen their candidates by looking into their social media accounts.
Checking social media as part of the recruitment process here in Thailand might not be taken as seriously as in America. Two recruitment experts said that human-resources departments here mainly concentrate on applicants' qualifications. Social media is another tool for candidate screening. Despite no official data, it is believed that the number of companies that screen applicants' social media is on the rise.
"Social media is a tool through which human resources learns about candidates' attitudes, personalities and lifestyles, so HR can see whether or not candidates suit their organisational culture. If a company looks for a writer, for instance, HR can see if a candidate can spell accurately on their posts," said Panutat Koonlaboon, country marketing manager at JobsDB.
Natenapha Yabushita, department head of Organization, Entrepreneurship and Human Resource Management at Thammasat Business School, said human-resources department in various companies have begun to check social-media profiles of candidates following the establishment of online recruitment websites like JobsDB.com, JobThai.com and Jobtopgun.com, which allow employers to receive lots of applications each day. Most companies, however, don't screen the social media of all applicants, only for those who make the final round of consideration.
"In the past, HR performed background checks on applicants mostly by means of talking to reference sources. Currently, HR looks at social-media profiles, but it isn't the main tool for screening candidates. The new generation sees a work-life balance as their priority. Social media helps employers get into the 'life' part so as to see if they can fine-tune with teammates," Natenapha said.
Social-media background checks are more necessary in some positions, especially those that require communications with customers or partners as well as executives who represent companies because their personality, attitude and behaviour can affect the corporate image.
"Some business-to-consumer industries such as hotels are concerned about candidates who change jobs often, so screening social media helps the HR department to know their personalities. A start-up company is another type of business that usually screens candidates' social-media profile, given it's a small enterprise which needs a quality team," explained the Thammasat instructor.
"Unlike SMEs [small and medium enterprises], employers that take candidate-social-media screening seriously are public companies as well as those that produce mass products and run premium brands. Some even include social-media guidance or policy in the employment contract. If an employee causes any damage via social media, they can face disciplinary action," added Panutat.
Even though HR in Thailand doesn't use social media as a main tool to screen candidates, no job seekers want to put their career at risk. The hiring experts advised dos and don'ts with regard to online activities among job seekers.
"Don't be rude or pessimistic," he suggested. "Some people bad-mouth their bosses, customers or partners. This may not be wrong, but it's inappropriate. Most employers look for candidates who use social media creatively. For example, a candidate posts an honest and constructive review about a hotel while travelling," said Panutat.
To sweep their negative behaviour under the rug, some people decide to use more than one social-media account. But according to Natenapha, this doesn't necessarily mean employers won't find out.
"Qualified candidates won't waste their time fabricating their profiles. They don't have to create new social-media accounts," Natenapha said.
Panutat suggested that if job seekers believe their posts are inappropriate, delete them immediately.
"If we combine content from a person's social media accounts such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter together, all the content can [seem to] form that person's true personality. It is a shame if a candidate does something that doesn't reflect their personality on social media," Panutat said.
Some job applicants choose not to add their social media details to their resume. If it's their choice to opt out of this, does it mean a violation of privacy if the human-resources department still searches their accounts?
"Checking public posts is fine," Panutat said. "But the information obtained must be used during the application period and only for job-application purposes. HR staff can't provide information to other people. It would be wrong if the candidate's information is used after the recruitment ends."
To ensure businesses make proper use of social-media data as part of their candidate recruitment, Panutat recommended that a social-media policy be included in the employment contract.
"If social-media screening is considered an HR practice, a social-media policy should be mentioned in the employment contract, so it will be fair to everyone. It is important to realise that there will be consequences to all our [online] actions. If our social media accounts are set for public, they can be captured or cached. Online activities leave a footprint forever."
