Hiring new people for your firm is both exciting and risky. On one hand, bringing new ideas, experience and enthusiasm into your business can reinvigorate your existing teams and drive your business forward. On the other, there’s always a risk that the person you hire doesn’t quite fit—or doesn’t really have the skills or experience you were expecting.
It is claimed that up to 40% of resumes contain lies or leave out past employment, qualifications or education. So if you are doing 5 interviews for a new role, there will be serious doubt over the on-paper claims of 2 of your candidates.
Often we rely on gut instinct to weed out the unsuitable candidates. But it can be notoriously difficult to detect someone who is lying or even just “bending the truth”. This is where social media can come to your rescue. With just a few simple searches you can pre-validate candidates’ resumes before you even choose to interview them.
Here are 5 tips to help you pre-screen new hires:
1. Don’t wait until after the interview
Time is money, right? Rather than validating the candidates after you have taken the time to interview them, put together a short list and then quickly do some fact checking before the interview. If you are aiming to interview five people, make sure you have six or seven on your shortlist as there’s bound to be one or two fall out.
2. Start with a Google vanity search
It’s a tried and true way of digital snooping—simply enter the candidate’s name in Google’s search box. Use inverted commas and make sure you that you get the spelling right.
3. Refine the search results
Refine the results of your vanity search by clicking the Search tools button and narrowing the results to your country or local area (eg Sydney, Australia). Get the most recent information by clicking the Any time button and selecting Past month or Past year. Be sure to also skim through the images shown through the Google image search.
4. Delve into Facebook and Twitter
Not all Facebook or Twitter profiles are private. Logging into social networks sites allows you to get a sense of the social life of your candidate. Now, of course, a candidate’s after hours activities do not determine someone’s capacity to achieve business results. But remember, if you can find this information, your customers can too.
5. Validate claims via LinkedIn
LinkedIn can be used to help validate claims on a resume. Cross-match project and work accomplishments on your candidate’s resume with their LinkedIn profile. Check the “People also viewed” section of the candidate’s profile, and it’s likely you’ll see the profiles of their work colleagues. Quickly scan some of these profiles and their accomplishments to understand the context in which your candidate worked, and determine the validity of any LinkedIn recommendations.
Finding the right person for the job can be time consuming. Make the best use of your valuable time by pre-screening candidates, and use the information you find to ask questions and really get to know someone before you offer them the job.
