Corporate Sleuth: Four Ways to Find Candidate Information in Social Media
April 19th, 2010 by Louis P. Kadetsky, CPC
Corporate recruiters are spending more time on social media sites, checking the identities and activities of their top candidates. It’s a great way to get an unfettered view of a person that is unlikely to arise in an interview. Of course, every time a recruiter gets an edge, candidates come up with a way to get around it. The latest is to play with their names in sites like Facebook and Twitter to protect their personal lives from the prying eyes of potential employers.
Now, it’s the recruiters’ turn to make a move.
A recent AllFacebook post explains how job-seekers are trying to evade detection, and some of their moves will be difficult to beat. But, a bit of diligence and some outside support can help tip the odds back in your favor. Here are four ways to improve your due diligence of candidates in the social media space.
1. Search name combinations
An easy trick is to switch first and last names. Instead of Lou Kadetsky, I’d be Kadetsky Lou. If anyone notices, they’d still realize that it’s me, so the disruption to my social media relationships wouldn’t be substantial. But, recruiters looking for “Lou Kadetsky” wouldn’t find much.
Tactic: Search last name first and first name first. Also, include middle names in your searches.
2. E-mail is gold
You could find a candidate by searching for his e-mail address, especially since many link their Facebook and e-mail accounts. No amount of name-changing will impede your efforts. Keep in mind, however, that your candidate may have a separate e-mail for personal use, which will limit your progress.
Tactic: Take the e-mail address as far as it will go. For most social media users, the advantages of linking e-mail to the social media account far outweigh the risks of being “discovered” by a potential employer. Use this to your advantage.
3. Check out their friends and contacts
If a user restricts access to his or her account, dig deeper. Take a look at the candidate’s contacts, to see if one has an open account. Even if you don’t see anything from your candidate, you can get a sense of what his or her interests might be from the contacts listed.
Tactic: Explore. It’s time-intensive, so it may make sense to engage KGTiger’s BYTE service if you plan to take this approach.
4. Be aware that you might miss something
Some people maintain two of everything: a personal account and a work account. There is little you can do in the social media space if this is the case, so there’s no substitute for skilled interviewing and careful reference checks!
Tactic: Do what you do best. Social media due diligence doesn’t replace the skills you’ve spent a career refining.
[Thanks, AllFacebook]
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