CERs Social Media & Digital Recruiting 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which statement best describes ethical conduct when recruiting via online professional communities such as industry Slack groups or forums?
- Recruiters may post job listings only in channels explicitly designated for job postings (Correct answer)
- Recruiters should join under false pretenses to gather passive candidate data discreetly
- All members of a professional community implicitly consent to recruiter outreach
- Recruiters should only message members who publicly share their contact details
Correct answer: Recruiters may post job listings only in channels explicitly designated for job postings
Ethical recruiters respect community rules and post only in designated channels, honoring the norms of professional online communities.
Question 2: A recruiter is building a Boolean search string on LinkedIn to find candidates. Which modifier would raise the most ethical concern?
- Title: 'Software Engineer' AND skills: 'Python'
- Site:linkedin.com AND 'HBCU' to target candidates from historically Black colleges only (Correct answer)
- Location: 'Chicago' AND 'open to work'
- Industry: 'Healthcare' AND 'certified'
Correct answer: Site:linkedin.com AND 'HBCU' to target candidates from historically Black colleges only
Targeting candidates based on HBCU attendance could be used as a proxy for race, raising discrimination concerns if used to exclude rather than include.
Question 3: Under ethical digital recruiting standards, how long should recruiters retain candidate social media data collected during sourcing?
- Indefinitely, to build a long-term talent pipeline
- Only as long as necessary for the specific hiring process, then securely delete (Correct answer)
- Five years, to comply with standard record-keeping rules
- Until the candidate explicitly requests deletion
Correct answer: Only as long as necessary for the specific hiring process, then securely delete
Ethical data practices require retaining personal data only as long as necessary and disposing of it securely when no longer needed.
Question 4: A recruiter notices that a job candidate is a member of a union-related Facebook group. The ethical recruiter should:
- Flag it for the hiring manager as a potential labor relations concern
- Ignore the information as union membership is a protected activity under the NLRA (Correct answer)
- Document it confidentially in the candidate record
- Ask the candidate about their union involvement during the interview
Correct answer: Ignore the information as union membership is a protected activity under the NLRA
Union membership and activity are protected under the National Labor Relations Act; discriminating based on union affiliation is unlawful.
Question 5: What is an ethical response when a social media platform's algorithm delivers a recruiter's job ad predominantly to one gender?
- Accept the outcome as it reflects the platform's user demographics
- Investigate the cause, adjust targeting parameters, and document corrective actions (Correct answer)
- Immediately switch to a different platform without documenting the issue
- Ask candidates to share the ad with friends to naturally broaden reach
Correct answer: Investigate the cause, adjust targeting parameters, and document corrective actions
Ethical recruiters monitor ad delivery for gender bias, take corrective action, and document the process to demonstrate good-faith EEO compliance efforts.
Question 6: A recruiter wants to verify information a candidate shared on their LinkedIn profile. The most ethical verification method is:
- Cross-referencing with the candidate's other social media accounts for consistency
- Directly asking the candidate for supporting documentation such as diplomas or references (Correct answer)
- Purchasing a third-party report that includes the candidate's broader internet activity
- Contacting the candidate's current employer without their knowledge or consent
Correct answer: Directly asking the candidate for supporting documentation such as diplomas or references
Directly requesting documentation from the candidate is transparent, respectful of privacy, and consistent with ethical recruiting standards.
Question 7: Which of the following best characterizes an ethical social media recruiting policy for a recruiting firm?
- Each recruiter decides individually what social media information to use in screening
- The firm maintains a written policy specifying which platforms may be reviewed, what data may be used, and how it is documented (Correct answer)
- Recruiters are encouraged to gather as much online data as possible to make informed decisions
- The policy prohibits all social media research to eliminate any risk of discrimination claims
Correct answer: The firm maintains a written policy specifying which platforms may be reviewed, what data may be used, and how it is documented
A written, consistent policy governs ethical social media use in recruiting, ensuring fairness, legal compliance, and organizational accountability.
CERs Social Media & Digital Recruiting 5
Which statement best describes ethical conduct when recruiting via online professional communities such as industry Slack groups or forums?