As of January 2024 5.04 billion people use social media and with the average user active for 2 hours and 27 minutes each day. It’s no wonder that organisations are increasingly turning to the screening of online content as part of their recruitment operations.   

Why Is Social Media Screening Increasing In Schools?

If you work in schools you will be acutely aware of the Department for Education’s Statutory Guidance on Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSiE) which came into force in 2022. In terms of recruitment, the guidance now states that schools “should consider conducting an online search as part of their due diligence on the shortlisted candidates”. So despite there being no legal obligation, it is now likely to be common practice for schools or colleges to look at your publicly available internet history, if and when you have been shortlisted for interview. As long as the school informs you that such checks are to be carried out then it is perfectly entitled to do so and quite rightly allows them to identify any red flags. It is important to be aware that you should not be asked for access to password-protected online materials. 

What Is Manual Social Media Screening For Teachers?

There is a significant time burden associated with carrying out screening checks as part of a recruitment cycle. This is because for many organisations including schools, it is still carried out manually by a person and doesn’t always follow a structured process. Such manual checking is open to significant bias which can leave candidates vulnerable to incorrect inferences being made about their character. Human resource workers may associate negative connotations with what they see online and make ill-informed decisions about a person. 

It’s a grey area and checks should never become an open ended fishing exercise. But from your perspective, it is worth noting that if HR teams are carrying out unstructured manual checking and they happen to be in the same private social media groups as you there is nothing to stop them searching the group for your contributions. Rightly or wrongly they may use these to inform opinions about your character. If you are applying for a role with an aspiring EdTech firm whilst criticizing the school system then they could potentially view you as a reputational risk. 

Automated Social Media Screening In Schools 

Manual screening is open to unconscious bias and there are considerable moral and ethical implications that could impede an organisation’s diversity and inclusion. These issues compounded by the significant labour ‘sink’ of manual checking mean that companies are now looking to automate the process to improve standards, drive efficiency and reduce labour costs. 

If you currently work in a school where manual checking is carried out, then you may want to consider using software but you need to ensure that the same structured process is adhered to each time. Just be aware that at present the Department for Education has not provided clear guidance to schools regarding what should and shouldn’t be screened for or given oversight to such software providers. 

A number of software providers now work in the education space carrying out impartial checks that they argue improves compliance. 

How Do Automated Screening Checks Work? 

Automated screening software will look at a whole range of publicly available digital content across multiple platforms, including billions of web pages, online articles, blogs and vlogs. You must be informed about this to conform with data protection and GDPR and it is likely to be carried out at the shortlisting stage although this may vary from industry to industry.

A standardised report is generated allowing an organisation to assess your cultural fit and your level of online professionalism. The information it contains may also allow them to identify any content relating to you that could jeopardize their future reputation. On a more serious level all automated checks will be looking for digital red flags in the form of swearing, negativity or hate speech, the sharing or liking of violent images or those which contain nudity or toxic language. Any connections with extremism or terror groups will also be identified. Packages will typically check up to 5 years of your publicly available internet history. 

Your Social Media Can Also Be An Asset!

Your online presence may showcase aspects of your character or lifestyle that might support your application. For example, if you are applying for a charity role and your social media content presents you as a benevolent and altruistic individual then this may give you a competitive advantage at interview. 

What To Do If You’re Worried

For the vast majority of you, your social media presence will be of no concern whatsoever however if you are worried about your digital footprint you can pay for an individual report on yourself. This will then allow you to improve your digital profile.

However, know your rights. Never provide passwords or allow potential employers to ‘friend’ or ‘add’ you to their channels. We are clearly on the precipice of social media screening becoming standard practice across all industries and with improved legislation and guidance its likely to become a standard part of the job application process.