At this point, social recruiting is firmly ensconced in the toolboxes of most recruiters. Although it\u2019s not the be-all and end-all of their work, more and more recruiters find social media provides them with a universe of qualified candidates that\u2019s both wide in numbers and deep in specific skills. Used properly, and by taking advantage of tools such as Dice Open Web to search more efficiently, they can identify candidates who would never have otherwise made it onto their radar. But social media can be an important part of the hiring process, even after a candidate has made it past the r\u00e9sum\u00e9 review, telephone screen or even the first interview. Whether you\u2019re a recruiter, HR professional or hiring manager, looking at the candidate\u2019s online activity can provide you with a better idea about the depth of their skills and whether they\u2019ll fit into your organization\u2019s culture. Torin Ellis, a human capital management strategist in Baltimore, believes the best approach to vetting candidates this way is to \u201clook through two lenses.\u201d One lens comes into play if the role in question is customer-facing. In that case, he evaluates how the candidate interacts with others online. The other lens is about their technical and business skills or, as Ellis puts it, \u201ctheir knowledge of the space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellis emphasizes that \u201ccustomers\u201d can be internal as well as external, which makes sense as more tech firms increase their emphasis on soft skills. When looking at a candidate in this context, Ellis recommends following this course: Stick to the top three to five platforms<\/strong>, such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Otherwise, you\u2019ll be swamped with specialized or regional sites. In each case, look at the candidate\u2019s posts and reputation. Ask yourself what the customer might think if they saw the same material you\u2019re looking at. Evaluate Behavior: <\/strong>Then dive a little deeper to see how other users perceive the candidate and the way they interact with others. \u201cRemember, social media can be one-way\u2014some people just post and don\u2019t comment,\u201d Ellis observed. \u201cEither way, you can get a sense of what that person is like in real life.\u201d Are They Positive or Negative?<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019m always looking for posts that are derogatory, demeaning or bashing their employer,\u201d Ellis said, though he hopes not to find them. \u201cI don\u2019t mind someone being combative, but if they\u2019re divisive, that\u2019s a red flag\u201d to follow up on, possibly during a one-on-one conversation. \u201cI\u2019m not objecting to debating,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m objecting to incivility.\u201d Can all this help you get a feel for a candidate\u2019s cultural fit? \u201cAbsolutely,\u201d Ellis said. \u201cYou\u2019re getting a sense of the person and how they interact. That can help you shape how interviews go, depending on what you see.\u201d A candidate\u2019s social media persona may not give you enough information to judge their cultural fit, he added, \u201cbut it can give you a prompt to dig deeper.\u201d<\/p>\nThe Business Lens<\/h3>\n