Contributed by: Jocelyn Hall

In our technological age, we rely heavily on social networking to help us solve even the most trivial problems. In the workplace long ago, employers based candidates on their interviewing skills and their resume. Now, an employer may also look online to better understand a possible future employee. Between Facebook, Twitter, Blogspot, Tumblr, Flickr, etc and dating websites, a company can just “Google” a person’s name and see what pops up about them. Now all those late night partying photos are in the hands of a potential boss.

And what if you, as the boss, are looking at these photos and trying to make an assessment about that individual. What do you think? They showed up on time, even early, to their interview. They delivered a perfect elevator pitch about why they would be valuable to your company. And they even followed up within 24 hours with a thank you letter. But when you searched them on Facebook, you found photo after photo of them at bars and parties (after all, they are in their early 20s), pictures of them schmoozing it up with a different girl in every picture and lastly, very poor grammar in conversations with their friends. The two people (the one who interviewed with you and the one online) are seemingly two completely different people. So what do you do?

Well, nowadays it is common for people just entering into the workforce to be instructed about cleaning up (or hiding) what is available for the public eye on these Internet sites. So we can first off say that it is up to them to make sure that you can’t find all of those photos and such forth. But at the same time, those photos now make you question whether they are a good candidate or if they can just interview well.

A good question to ask yourself is whether or not you believed the person sitting in front of you? It may be that this person is a good worker but also has a fun-loving side (not everyone can be work, work, work all the time, right?) You may also want to re-asses what you found online and decide if those photos actually hold relevance. How many partying photos are there compared to fun, family photos? How long ago were these pictures taken? Have they spoken badly about any of their past employers? These questions won’t completely suffice whether or not they are a good candidate for employment but they will help you determine whether or not you need to focus so hard on it all. Also look and see: Do they also have a LinkedIn website or connections to other business related groups? Before attempting to determine everything about this person via Internet, think about interviewing them again. Bring up the information you found about them on the Internet and voice the fact that the information would reflect badly on the company if clients or others saw it. If all else, think about hiring them on a trial run.

The good part about the Internet is that we now have access to more information about people. Way back when (i.e. earlier 2000s) employers still had to base a candidate off of whom they spoke with. A candidates other life was completely unknown to them, so technically, when hiring it’s always a gamble to pick the right people. The Internet gives us more information, but it also poses more questions. With a simple click on the “Privacy” screen they may be able to hide all the unsightly information. So if you feel that the person face to face with you deserves a shot, maybe think about taking that gamble. However, that’s not to say that information found via the Internet should never be used against a candidate. I guess at the end of it all, it’s about using your best judgment. Just remember, don’t trust everything you see on the Internet.