A national study of Minnesota published in the Star Tribune Business suggests that 45 per cent of the employers screen job seekers on Facebook in the recruitment process before making a final decision. The survey reported that employers were impressed by personality, creativity and communications skills of potential employees found via the Internet, “but they also rejected job candidates for inappropriate photos, content relating to drinking and misrepresentation of skills”.

The controversy is that vetting job candidates on Facebook is not illegal, but, as experts point out, this practice is totally unethical and could result in tribunal claims on grounds of discrimination. However, there are hardly any policies that regulate the use of Facebook as a tool for recruitment. The legal loophole stems from the privacy settings in which the user’s profile is created. The privacy policy regulations set out by Facebook state that certain personal information such as name, profile pictures, network, username and user ID are always publicly available. This means that once you build a Facebook profile you are effectively giving your consent to make this information public to anyone, so that even people who don’t have a Facebook account can access such details. So, obviously if during the recruitment process a hiring manager finds hidden values on Facebook that weren’t shown in the traditional interview and which do not match the company’s corporative culture, candidates can be disadvantaged. They can actually be rejected due to public information posted voluntarily by the candidates in the first place, since there is no concrete legal restriction prohibiting it. In the UK, for instance, 41 per cent of organisations rejected candidates due to inappropriate content in the social media, a poll carried out by recruitment firm Penna Barkers showed.

So although using Facebook as a tool of recruitment is on the increase, companies should bear in mind that its misuse may have legal implications apart from those of an ethical nature.

In Malta, as in the UK, employers are not legally restricted from accessing such data when vetting potential employees. As Clive Gerada, publications officer of Ghaqda Studenti tal-Ligi of the University of Malta argues, “it appears that from a legal point of view there is no safeguard to one’s privacy when such information is voluntary disclosed on social networks”.

Nonetheless, Mr Gerada cautions, that these businesses, without knowing it, could be close to violating anti-discrimination laws that have protected workers for decades. If the candidates feel that they have been unlawfully discriminated during a selection or a recruitment process, on the basis of information relating to their political affiliation, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, racial origins, age, etc, they could sue successfully in court. Though such information is public knowledge, employers should watch their step and not use it against candidates to avoid coming across as being unethical and faced with a possible lawsuit.

Although HR experts acknowledge the importance of social nets as a way of communication, they agree on the lack of professionalism of surfing around one’s privacy. For Christina Galea, Group Human Resources Development of Island Hotels, the use of Facebook to screen potential employees profiles should be limited, since “ it does not portray a person’s professional image” which can be very different. She said that in any case a Social Network should be an integrated recruitment tool used together with other tools for proper selection. She said that she “would at most have a look at the person’s profile page but she would use the information with an open mind”. Galea is of the opinion that “it would be unfair to penalise a person professionally for their personal life unless it was a truly sensitive position”.

Michelle Seguna, HR manager of The Westin Dragonara Resort is of the same mind. She feels that it is not ethical to use Facebook to screen future candidates. “I believe there should be a distinction between work life and social life.” That is why Ms Seguna gives more importance “to in-depth interviewing and obtaining referrals”. However, she doesn’t play down the importance of Facebook and other social nets as economical and effective tools of communication. She acknowledges that her company uses Facebook when targeting certain groups; “for positions of a junior level due to its widespread reach and also as it is cost-effective”.

Within this complex technological scenario where it is getting more difficult to define the limits between the public and the private domains, one cannot deny the vast influence of social nets on the business sector nor their employability uses. IT is here to stay as its value is undisputable but, like all good things in life, IT can be misused or abused and therefore HR professionals need to ensure that in spite of unclear legislative provisions, ethics still prevail and their obligations are to adhere to these standards. The private life of people is exactly that – private – and any information placed on the nets is meant to satisfy a personal need of some sort and not for the purpose of recruitment and job selection. On the other hand, being careful and smart is common sense and helps. No one, then, would place his or her credit card number on the net, would they?

Ms Garcia Reche is a Spanish journalist at the Foundation for Human Resources Development