During training, they clearly define what makes a solid resume, ergo a solid candidate. Evaluating a candidate becomes a quantitative process of checking the boxes; the more boxes checked, the better the candidate.  While this dedication to an efficient and accurate recruiting strategy is important, it neglects a fair representation of the candidate’s capability.  When the focus is entirely metric-based, you miss fantastic potential employees because a box wasn’t checked on their profile.  My most favorite example of this mistake is the scrutinizing attention to job history.

As a recruiter, how often have you asked a candidate about their job history in one form of question or another?  Why?  My guess is because you assume past behavior is the best indicator of future behavior.  Am I right?

• Short job history? –– “Job-hopper; they won’t stay committed.”

• Relocated often? –– “They get bored easily; difficult to manage their insatiable appetite for change.”

• Quit, laid-off, fired? –– “Forget about it, the best always stay employed.”

As a hiring manager, you have to make educated assumptions on a candidate based on the information you have available to you; resumes, interviews, references, social networks, etc.  But our REAL job is determining the compatibility of the candidate to our company.  Let me give you a couple examples to illustrate the danger of judging someone based on job history.

How many people did you date before finding your wife/husband/partner?  Now imagine if during the dating process, you were out to dinner, and your date said, “Tell me about all the people you’ve dated in your past.  Why didn’t it work out?”  See what I did there?  It’s ridiculous!  As I mentioned in my previous post, finding a job is like dating; sometimes it takes several of the wrong type to find the right one.  Smart people use life and career experiences to learn and grow, becoming better prepared and more qualified for future opportunities.  Just because someone’s past job history isn’t stellar, doesn’t mean they won’t be stellar for your future.
Here’s one for you sports buffs.  Michael Jordan tried out for his high school varsity basketball team during his sophomore year.  He didn’t make it.  At 5’11”, he was considered “too short” to play at the varsity level.  Over the course of the following year, he trained hard, grew four inches, and the rest is history.  Imagine if his high school coach judged and dismissed him based on his performance as a sophomore.  We could have been robbed of the best basketball player to ever grace a jersey!  The game as we know it wouldn’t exist.  I’m using Jordan’s story as a metaphor in this instance.  Like Jordan, all people have the unlimited potential to grow and be great at something.  We just need the right opportunities, the right mentorship, and the right environment to develop.

Agree, disagree?  Let me know your thoughts!

Read More about how to value capabilities and cultural fit over experience in “4 Conversation Starters for the Interview Room.”

With an educational background in entrepreneurship, Travis Baker’s views tend to build from a broader business perspective.  Born in 1985, he’s a true millennial.  He believes we’re all citizens of a global community, and we have a shared responsibility to society.  His experience as both an agency and corporate talent acquisition professional has taught him that people are the real drivers of business. 

Facebook is the world’s largest social network. It’s where more than a billion people go to connect, share, and reflect. For recruiters, Facebook provides the world’s largest database of candidates the world has ever known. Just like a LinkedIn profile, a Facebook user’s profile provides insight into your potential employee’s work habits, skills, and qualifications, and culture fit. Companies who are government contractors should be cautious as the OFCCP provides specific guidelines when recruiting on the internet or online. Understanding these guidelines and the required reporting as part of a company or location’s affirmative action plan includes recruiting data on Facebook which is why using tools like SmartRecruiters can be so beneficial. SmartRecruiters offers OFCCP reporting data.

For those recruiters who are recruiting on Facebook, it’s easy for recruiters to get overwhelmed or distracted by information and details that can get them in hot water.  Here are 4 do’s and don’t when evaluating a job seeker’s Facebook profile.

• Do Look at Shared Content.  Look for industry insights, links to their professional blog, or information about how the candidate stays up to date with industry news, trends, and topics.  Avoid personal messages, private photos, or shared information that could make you and the employer liable if a hiring decision is made.

• Don’t Look at Photos.  Personally, using Facebook as a recruiting and sourcing tool should not serve as a corporate witch hunt or background check alternative.  Focus on the candidate’s qualifications and not their recent breakup, religious opinions, bar photos, or post regarding their clear bill of health.

• Do CheckOut Their About Page.  Aside from a candidate’s marital status or religious views, the Facebook About Page can provide you insights about the candidate’s work history (very important), contact information, or additional websites to visit.  This comes in handy if you are looking to contact the job seeker directly, and is a great place to fine a job seeker’s email or phone number they sometimes fail to provide on other social networking profiles like LinkedIn.

• Do Access Apps.  Tools like BranchOut and GlassDoor can offer the opportunity to connect with job seekers and learn more about candidate impressions of your organization.  These apps offer robust profiles where job seekers can display and share their experiences. Depending on your level and access, you can search and source these apps directly even messaging job seekers who use the app. 

Facebook like any other tool is only as good as the candidate and the recruiter who use them.  Recruiting, sourcing, and hiring on Facebook can provide positive recruiting results but only if used wisely.  Most importantly, use this blog post to customize a candidate profile evaluation process document for others, including yourself as the recruiter to follow.  A document like this helps to create consistently among your team while clearly defining the objectives when searching closed social networking sites such as this.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology strategist specializing in social media. She’s an author who writes at Blogging4Jobs. When she talks, people listen.  Also, connect with her on Pinterest @blogging4jobs. Photo Credit Facebook.com/Zuck/Info