During the job application and interview process, consider whether additional applicant screening may help your business find the most qualified applicant for a role. Applicant screening is the process through which a recruiter, hiring manager, or human resources representative will review an applicant’s materials and other available information to determine whether they are the best candidate for the position. Additional screening steps beyond reviewing the candidate’s application materials and interview may include contacting an applicant’s references and checking their social media or Internet presence.

Job References

Employers may request that a job applicant provide references who can confirm or attest to their prior experience and positions. While contacting a job applicant’s references is not legally required, this step can play a crucial role in gaining a fuller picture of a candidate’s past performance and potential fit. Although there are no state or federal laws directly related to checking job references, employers should apply a consistent reference check process to all candidates and exercise caution to avoid actions that could be perceived as discriminatory.

Contacting an applicant’s job references may present valuable insights while also posing certain challenges.

PROS:

• Gain insight into an applicant’s experience, work ethic, and interpersonal skills that may not translate from resumes or interviews.
• Verify key information such as job responsibilities, experience level, and proficiency in relevant skills.
• Ask follow-up questions to former employers and colleagues who can provide a more nuanced understanding of the candidate’s potential fit with the team.

CONS:

• The references provided are often carefully selected by the applicant and may not provide a fully objective or balanced view as the applicant may only list contacts who would give positive feedback.
• The applicant’s current employer may not be listed as a reference if the applicant has not yet given their separation notice, and thus references may be dated or not have recent experience with the applicant.
• Feedback may vary in quality and reliability, and some businesses may only confirm a former employee’s dates of employment and positions held.

BEST PRACTICES:

• If you intend to check one applicant’s references, you should implement a consistent process to check references for all candidates being considered for the same position, rather than picking-and-choosing candidates, so as to ensure all candidates are being treated fairly.
• Ask references open-ended, standardized questions to maintain fairness and gather comparable information.
• As with interview questions, avoid questions related to or that might reveal an applicant’s protected characteristics.

Social Media

An applicant may have public-facing social media or a presence on the Internet that is readily accessible to third parties. Reviewing a job applicant’s social media may provide insight into how the individual presents themselves publicly and whether that aligns with the employer’s values and brand image. Similarly, their online presence may reveal a job applicant’s professional achievements, community involvement, and communication style, all of which can indicate whether they are likely to represent the company in a positive light and whether their interactions would fit within the organization’s culture.

While it may be tempting to review an applicant’s social media to learn more about their life outside of work or discover information not on their resume, keep in mind the purpose of applicant screening is to determine whether an applicant is the best fit for the position. Not all online information will be relevant to the applicant’s professional capabilities or qualifications, and such inquiries may reveal a protected characteristic. Therefore, it is important to carefully review publicly available information with a focus on what relevance this information has on the applicant’s ability to perform the role they applied for and whether making a decision based on such discoveries could be perceived as discriminatory.

Washington regulates what actions an employer can take in connection with an applicant’s (and current employee’s) social media. It is unlawful for an employer to require an employee or applicant with respect to their personal social media account to take any of the following actions:

• Disclose their login information;
• Access the account in the employer’s presence so that the employer can observe the account’s contents;
• Add a person, including the employer, to the account’s list of contacts or followers; or
• Change the account’s privacy settings, affecting a third party’s ability to view the account’s contents.

A company is also prohibited from making an adverse employment decision based on an applicant or employee’s failure or refusal to take any of the above prohibited actions.

Applicant Screening Takeaways:

• Adopt a uniform practice or policy so that you are treating all job applicants in a similar manner. You should not arbitrarily contact job references and check social media for some candidates if not all candidates for the same position are subject to these same practices.
• Always consider what connection certain information has on the applicant’s ability to perform the job. This is the main purpose of applicant screening and must be kept in mind as references are contacted and Internet presence is reviewed.
• If you cannot access an applicant’s social media, you cannot require them to make their account public or access their profile in your presence.
• Consider whether making an employment decision based on certain information could be viewed as discriminatory (i.e., does an applicant’s Internet presence reveal a protected characteristic?).
• Consider whether more rigorous screening steps may benefit your business. If so, do you have the internal resources, like a designated hiring manager or human resources representative, with time that can be dedicated to this practice? If not, does your budget permit engaging a third party to perform these steps?

If you are uncertain about how to properly conduct applicant screening or would like assistance in structuring a uniform process to do so, please contact Ryan Swanson’s employment department and we would be happy to help you.