Recruiters, Talk To Lawyers Before Looking On Facebook

Employers looking to research prospective hires on Facebook better consult with an attorney first.

Employers looking to research prospective hires on Facebook better consult with an attorney first.

That wise advice comes from Fortune‘s career advice column, “Ask Annie.” The columnist shrewdly says that looking up job candidates’ profiles on Facebook has several legal risks — these issues prompt many employers to hire third-party recruitment firms.

Employment attorneys recommend that a hiring manager or recruiter notify job candidates before looking them up on Facebook. Of course, that can give people the opportunity to clean up their profiles ahead of time, which might the whole exercise less effective.

However, one could view this as testing potential recruits’ savviness about professionalism, or possible lack thereof.

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