Do You Google Your Candidates?

My colleague, Mike Vilimek (@mikevilimek) recently wrote an interesting blog post about Googling Candidates, which I would like to share here.

He wrote...

Be honest…yeah, I thought so. We live in a world now where information about the people we meet is so easily accessible, turning a blind eye to it doesn’t make sense. It has become common practice to Google anyone we want to learn more about. Whether it’s a friend, someone you’re dating or someone you plan to hire, chances are there’s information out there to find.

In fact, according to an article in the New York Times,75 percent of recruiters are required by their companies to do online research of candidates. I see a few problems with this. But first let me say that I think learning more about candidates through information found online is a valuable practice. If you value hiring the best talent, then you should also value knowing as much as you can about your candidates. That being said, this information needs to be gathered in a fair and consistent manner. That’s why I feel randomly Googling a candidate’s name is not a good practice. It’s neither fair nor consistent.

In regards to fair: How do you know you didn’t find information on a different person with the same name? How do you know you won’t find personal information that should have no bearing on a candidate’s chances of gaining employment? But most importantly, employers should have to get a candidate’s permission to conduct a search and also share with the candidate all the information found.

In regards to consistent: How do you ensure that the same search is done on each candidate? How can you ensure that each candidate is Googled with equal rigor? How do you capture and present both the positive and potentially negative information found on a consistent basis from candidate to candidate?

Anyone of these concerns is a good enough reason to question the appropriateness of randomly Googling Your Candidates. If you’re looking to learn more about your candidates in a fair and consistent manner, check this out.

Comment by Stephanie Weirich on August 29, 2011 at 1:06pm: So true Bill! It's good to get a broader understanding of who your candidate is. But when the wild and wacky is a part of who they are, it really is in the responsibility of the candidate to make sure they are managing their reputation themselves...

Comment by Stephanie Weirich on August 29, 2011 at 3:12pm: LOL, this is truer than I'd like. Mind you "getting the job" just isn't their expertise. It's Accounting, or Programming or something else. So we have to give them as much insight into how to get the job as we can.

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on August 29, 2011 at 4:05pm: try googling hiring managers. Now THAT is scary.

Comment by lisa rokusek on August 29, 2011 at 5:07pm: Once upon a time I had a young staff who surfaced a candidate for a client in Minnesota. Googling our candidates was part of what we did, usually, but this one guy (who had a VERY distinctive name) didn't get googled.

At least until after the offer stage when the client called me and asked me if I had googled his name....while on the phone I said "oh no..." and did some fast typing. He had a photography business.... of a very specific nature. There were things on that site that made me blush and that is not an easy thing to do. I think my client was blushing too but he just kept clicking the pics in amazement and perhaps more than a little curiosity.

I called the candidiate and explained to the Persian Prince of Porn that he would have had his dream job except he was doing his hobby/side business under his own name. We discussed the importance of pseudonyms. I had a chat with my staff. Great story, painful lesson.

Comment by Sandra McCartt on August 31, 2011 at 1:42am: Didn't used to goo candidates until we were having trouble getting a candidate to return his background consent form. That was when I also believed that most people are honest. (quit laughing). Thought , hmmm, I will google this cat because something is starting to smell. There it was in living color from the Georgia department of corrections, complete with photo and a number. Two different visits to the state supported country club for fraud. And there was an offer on the table. But not for long.

That clown sent me an email telling me he had not received his travel confirmation in order to report for work the next Monday. What I sent back was his very own baby picture with a note that said, "there is a problem with your resume, the dates you show for pharma sales failed to indicate that your drug sales territory was inside the state pen." "your offer has been rescinded because they do not have a need for anyone with
experience in that territory". Should they decide to expand into that territory we will be in touch.

After that I google everything and everybody. I can now track a knat across a steel ball, at midnight, in a rain storm. And I do. No more docs will 9 malpractice complaints, lying convicts and/or sex offenders, thank you very much.

Comment by Tom Dimmick on August 31, 2011 at 5:03pm: Yes I Google them and I look to see if they have a LinkedIn profile, a Facebook page and or (shudder) a Myspace profile. I also look for Tweets on Twitter but when all is said and done, I want that consent form because I want to know if there is any bad stuff that I can't access on my own.

Comment by Stephanie Weirich on September 1, 2011 at 12:13am: Love the real life stories! Thanks Lisa and Sandra for sharing! and thanks everyone for the thoughts and comments!

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