When I am working with a client – the first thing I do is look at their website to get an understanding if the business, their history, their foot print, values and more… And it is something I will always advise prospective candidates to do as well – due diligence is key especially when you are considering a long-term opportunity with a new company…

But research is not limited only to applicants / candidates – we are seeing more and more organisations doing the same thing – utilising both professional network / platforms and various social media platforms as well. Organisations are looking to gain an understanding of a future employee – both professionally and personally… Over the last few years there have been plenty of articles, forums, trainings and more that have focused on driving the message of ensuring you have your privacy settings correct.

After all – what you post on your social media page today could come back to haunt you without you even knowing about it… 

But there is a fine line between research and stalking! With the war on talent we are seeing in the market, more and more candidates are being proactively approached by potential employers and recruiters. When speaking with a candidate recently, they mentioned they were proactively approached for a role, but when the conversation started focusing on asking specific questions about their family it became a bit awkward. They were amazed at how much personal information the caller had and how comfortable they were to ask personal questions…

Now it could be that they were trying to build rapport BUT there are better ways to go about doing it…

It turns out the caller had been doing research and had used a social media platform where they had gained information in relation to their family – going as far as to mention their sibling that lived in a different state and asking about parents and when they brought this up it came across far too familiar…

Now I am definitely an advocate in doing due diligence on both sides – organisation and applicant, but there is a very fine line between research and stalking and if that line is crossed you run the risk of alienating the person who could be perfect for your role and team. So yes, do your homework, research and gain insight but keep it professional!