Employers Are Justified In Viewing the Facebook Pages of Potential Hires - Essay Example

Employers Are Justified In Viewing the Facebook Pages of Potential Hires Employers Are Justified In Viewing the Facebook Pages of Potential Hires The rise of social media has transformed the way employers and employees view each other. It has also changed the approaches and strategies used by employers during the selection of potential hires. Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn have led to changes in how employers acquire and use information within the workplace. People use social media, which are electronic forms of communication, to create online communities. These communities share ideas, information, content and personal messages. The sharing of information through social media has led to the creation of professional and social contacts (Bertrand, 2012). Employers see social media as vital sources of information about a potential employee. The use of these media by employers to obtain information about a potential employee has led to the emergence of discussions on whether employers are justified to view the Facebook profile of potential employees. You: I agree that employers are justified to view the Facebook profile of potential employees. My support for employers to view the social media profiles and sites of potential employees is mainly based on the fact that social media sites are public sites. This means that they can be used as forms of references. It is essential to note that employers consider the impressions created by their potential employees (Bertrand, 2012). In order to understand the potential employee, it is necessary for the employer to get an impression of the behaviors or characteristics of the employee in their comfort zones. Your opponent: Social media sites are private sites. The privacy of these sites is reinforced by the fact that the user is given a password to protect against hackers. Therefore, whatever people decide to do in privacy is not meant for judgment by other people. Prospective employers are not justified to view social media profiles because they will make prejudicial conclusions about the private life of a potential employee. When people share their ideas, perspectives, stories and pictures on social media, they do not expect that their employers will judge their character or behavior based on their activity on social media (Bertrand, 2012). People engage in social media activities for fun. Therefore, using social media to get personal information is a violation of privacy. Employers should gauge their potential employees using information obtained from their resumes and previous employers or workmates. You: Employers have the right of knowing who will potentially represent their business or company. Even with the privacy status, employers have the right to obtain information and insights into their potential employees from social media. Potential employers do not want employees who do inappropriate things on social media (Bertrand, 2012). Using the information from social media, employers have an opportunity of identifying people who lead double lives. Based on the fact that social media is a public platform, people should not post their personal information on the site. Employers who search for information on social media platforms are protecting their businesses from negative reputation in case the employee was a potential criminal. Your opponent: People have a right to privacy. People have a right to post whatever they want on social media because they have the freedom of expression and speech. Employers who visit the profiles of their potential employees are invading on the privacy of the potential employee. Additionally, most of the posts on social media are meant for fun and comic effects (Bertrand, 2012). Therefore, it is inappropriate for employers to base their judgments on social media posts. In case employees need to obtain personal information about a potential employee, they should focus their attention on the references provided by the potential employee. You: It is vital to note that social media sites are not an exception during an employee’s background check. Employers conduct background checks, drug tests and credit checks on their potential employees. Excluding social media from these checks means that the employers risk missing crucial information about the potential employee. Using social media sites enables employees to gain insights and better perspectives on an employee. The information obtained from social media sites should reflect the demeanor of the potential employee (Bertrand, 2012). Employees have repeatedly stated that they use social media to evaluate whether their potential employees present themselves professionally. They also use social media to determine whether a potential employee can fit the culture of their business. Your opponent: Using social media to evaluate the behavior and fit of a potential employee has the potential of restricting people from expressing themselves accordingly. In order to avoid being judged by potential employers, people will stop making comical or sensational posts on their social media (Bertrand, 2012). Additionally, they might be forced to manipulate their personal information in order to suit a potential employer. Employers need to know that they should honor the constitutional rights of their employees. Therefore, they should protect the personal freedoms of these people. You: Posting information on Facebook profiles and other social media sites mean that the user of the site aims for a wider audience. Therefore, employers will not be invading into the personal life of anybody when they choose to go through the social media profiles of potential employees (Bertrand, 2012). Social media sites are open to all people who have the resources to access the sites. Social media sites provide critical information that shows whether a potential employee is a drug addict or badmouths their former employers and workmates. Your opponent: Employers should understand that potential employees have a life outside their workplaces. This means that employers should allow people to live without the fear of being followed. Additionally, people are bound to change. This means that people who do not act in a professional manner on social media have the potential to act professionally in the workplace. After all, a potential employee’s social media page cannot be used to represent a company or employer (Bertrand, 2012). Therefore, the potential employee should be allowed to live without the fear of repercussions. Some employees may choose to use pseudonyms, or lie that they do not have social media accounts. They may also deactivate their accounts once they know that a potential employer will use the account to gauge their personality. You: Social media sites are within the scope of social networking. This means that going through the social media profiles of potential employees is a strategy of social networking. Furthermore, the potential employee has provided information on a public platform. Therefore, it is a clear reflection on their character and judgment in case they post photos of themselves partying, drinking or doing drugs (Bertrand, 2012). Potential employees should expect to be held responsible for their online activities. Additionally, potential employees should not expect that their activities on social media will remain private. Additionally, potential employees need to realize that Facebook is not only a site where people post comments and photos, but a public or semi-public forum where information and content are evaluated using different strategies and approaches. People who can access a potential employee’s information from Facebook have the capability to evaluate this information using different tools (Bertrand, 2012). Potential employers have the right to factor all information about a potential employee because employers operate in a functioning job market. The efficiency of employers is dependent on the ability of the employer to obtain maximum information about the potential employee. Potential employees need to recognize that social media sites are not only sites for sharing content, but also sources of crucial private information. The rise of Facebook as a tool for communication and networking gives potential employers a platform from which they can obtain hidden information about an individual. The images, comments and posts on social media are useful in evaluating the behaviors of people and their social networks. Potential employers are justified to look for information about a potential employee from social media sites. Employers have the right to protect their organizations from malicious people or people who might cause harm to the reputation of their organization. People who are against the use of social media to obtain information will state that potential employees have the right to privacy. It is agreeable that they have a right to privacy. However, during the employment process, employees should provide both private and public information. This will increase the efficiency of the employer. Reference Bertrand, S. (2012). The use of Facebook by companies. Munchen: GRIN Verlag GmbH. Read More