SDS: Recruitment Agency
specialising in recruitment services for japanese speaking job seekers in Singapore

Human resource departments scrutinize employees' Facebook accounts

Must have 50 friends or more. Show your best smiling face for your profile picture. Post positive comments at least twice in three weeks.

These tips on how to give the best possible impression to potential employers have been presented at popular Facebook workshops in Japan targeting job seekers.

The media has reported that Japanese companies have started checking the Facebook accounts of applicants, including their personal activities, before they hire them.

One issue is the veracity of information posted on Facebook.

You may recall the recent incident in Singapore in which a trade union official, Ms Amy Cheong, posted racially-insensitive comments on her Facebook page.

In this case, her thoughtless comments led to a summary dismissal – leading to her to leave Singapore for Australia urgently. Although the reaction by her employer remained controversial, people were reminded that a Facebook page is public and not personal (unless you change the setting to personal).

Triggered by this incident, SPH’s online video news site RazorTV interviewed international recruitment and HR service company, Alexander Mann Solutions, about the role of Facebook in the hiring os staff.

Mr. Martin Cerullo, global director of Alexander Mann Solutions, revealed that more than 70 per cent of companies are checking applicants' Facebook accounts to making a hiring decision.

What is your company's practice?

The more employers try to dig out applicants’ personal behaviour on Facebook, the more they might be faced with factually doubtful information.

Companies and their HR departments would need to sharpen their eyes more if they intend to use Facebook to unveil the real personalities of their current and potential employees.