Almost every applicant in today’s world has a sizable social media presence. This usually takes the form of numerous accounts on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and others. These accounts are a treasure trove of information on an applicant’s beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. You can learn a lot about an applicant by checking out their social media profiles and activity.
The temptation for most recruiters is to simply dash to the applicant’s social media accounts and begin scanning for information. Some even force the applicants to hand over the login credentials to their social media accounts. After all, given that the information on social media accounts is readily available, why not look it up yourself?
>> Click here to download a sample report for our social media background checks.
Well, there are two major reasons why you should desist from conducting your own social media background checks. For starters, you can end up viewing information which is classified as “protected” and thus set yourself up for discrimination lawsuits. Even if you don’t get sued, the applicant can trick you by providing a decoy social media account. You basically end up hiring a person with questionable attitudes, ethics and behaviors – without even realizing it.
So, what is the remedy? Well, Crimcheck has got you covered.
We fully appreciate the importance of conducting social media background screening on potential applicants. We also understand the potential legal tripwires which can catch unsuspecting employers. We have therefore designed the perfect social media screening service for you.
What Are The Elements of Our Social Media Background Checks?
Our ultimate goal is to ensure that every employer gets the most complete information from the applicant’s social media accounts. This means that the information should be exhaustive, accurate and actionable.
To ensure this, our social media background checks have the following elements:
Multi-Platform Coverage
Our background checks exhaust all the social media platforms available on the planet. We go beyond the popular platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat.
Exhaustive Investigations
Most nefarious individuals are adept at covering their tracks on social media. Without detailed investigations, you can fail to detect the truth about them.
At Crimcheck, we have the tools for conducting exhaustive social media background checks. We cross-check all information across social media platforms. In the end, we provide you with a comprehensive review of an applicant.
The Social Intelligence report is a social media scan of the subject’s publicly available online presence utilizing a third party professional service provider whose reporting policies adhere to the guidelines of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and who is fully compliant with all relevant state and federal laws. This service includes research of various news sources, online articles, blogs, online newspapers, and social networking websites (the analysts will search sites as Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, etc).
Customized Checks
All our social media background screening is customized according to our clients’ needs. We know that every organization has its unique needs, processes, policies and timelines. Our goal is to provide everyone with exactly what they need. Whatever your unique requirements are, we will provide you with social media screening services specially crafted to meet them.
Actionable Reports
Unlike other sources of background checks information (e.g. criminal records or academic records), the information from popular social media sites are often unstructured. This makes processing this information quite tricky. Specifically, extracting actionable information can be difficult.
At Crimcheck, we have developed a system for analyzing the information in a manner which is most useful for employers. You will learn about our metrics shortly. The most important thing is that we will provide you with actionable reports. The kind of reports which you can use to make employment decisions instantly.
What Are Our Social Media Metrics?
So, what does our social media background screening report look like? Well, we categorize the information into six core metrics which are most useful to employers. These include:
1. Professional Misconduct
These are situations where a person behaves in a manner which would be considered unacceptable in professional settings. Examples include vicious criticism of a former employer, bad-mouthing colleagues, bullying or humiliating co-workers.
2. Discriminatory Behavior
This is when an applicant discriminates against individuals of a particular race, gender, religious affiliation or any other category. This includes posting racist, sexist or xenophobic comments and belonging to social media groups which are openly racist in their agenda.
3. Illegal Behavior
This is where an applicant engages in behavior which would be considered illegal in the real world. Examples of this include consuming banned substances (e.g. narcotics) or sharing child pornography.
4. Violent Behavior
This is where an applicant engages in, encourages or extols violent behavior. Examples include sharing violent content.
5. Sexual Behavior
This is where an applicant engages in behavior which is sexual in nature. Examples include posting nude, semi-nude or pornographic pictures/videos of themselves or other people.
6. Inappropriate Behavior
This is where an applicant behaves in a manner which is considered inappropriate. Examples include binge drinking, smoking marijuana, and singing bawdy songs.
What Red Flags?
The above metrics are applied from the content of an applicant’s social media activity. The primary consideration is from the photos, videos and graphics of themselves shared on social media. Other types include groups they belong to, the posts they wrote, and the content they interacted with (i.e. liked, shared, retweeted, and commented on).
Every behavior which falls into the six categories is flagged. The number of red flags for each behavioral category is aggregated. In the end, you the employer get a summary of the applicant’s online behavior according to the metrics. This enables you to make accurate decisions on the basis of the social media screening reports.
Why Order Our Social Media Background Checks?
Ultimately, our FCRA compliant, social media checks will enable you to make accurate hiring decisions. This is precisely why you need our social media screening service. It will provide you with the following benefits.
Legal Protection
By conducting these checks, we will protect you from lawsuits by ensuring that you don’t see protected information. This includes the applicant’s race, gender, ethnic background, and sexual orientation – info which is illegal to inquire about during recruitment.
Actionable Information
We will conduct the most thorough, detailed and exhaustive checks possible, and provide you with actionable reports.
Compliant Checks
Our social media background screenings are FCRA compliant and will be conducted with all other relevant federal, state and local legislation.
Customized Services
Our social media screening services will be customized to your needs. We shall even provide a report in a format which is best suited for your preferences.
Maximize the potential of social media to super-charge your hiring efforts by embracing social media background checks. In this respect, Crimcheck is at your service. Get in touch with us and we’ll get started right away.
Reach out to Crimcheck to see what options are right for your needs and get a free quote today.