Dive Brief:

• LinkedIn has provided a professional platform for candidates to connect with recruiters, but now with the ability to post blogs and share photos and updates on more personal aspects of life, coupled with the recent purchase of LinkedIn by Microsoft, recruiters warn candidates about sharing too much personal information here. So too, HR and company leaders need to be careful not to reveal too much about their own personal lives. 
• Celinda Appleby, head of global recruitment branding for Oracle, tells SHRM that while recruiters are looking at candidates on LinkedIn, candidates are also checking out company leaders in these same social media sites before the interview. What they may see there can be detrimental to company brands or seen as too personal for others. Other experts noted that both recruiters and HR need to be mindful of this, but that a little personal information is ok as long as it is aligned with corporate culture. 
• Now that Microsoft is in the diver's seat, the hope is that there will be more and better security measures associated with updates to LinkedIn to protect user data on both sides.

Dive Insight:

For as long as social networks have been sources of candidates, privacy concerns have been out there. Job seekers have been warned to watch what they put out there on social media because certain types of information can create unwanted bias. LinkedIn was one of the last frontiers where professionals could share only their professional information with others, leaving the potential for bias out.

But now, with the addition of open-sharing of photos, updates, and blogs, this aspect is forever gone. Recruiters and HR folks can learn from this that they too need to protect their information from candidates, who are not held to the same standards of professionalism as they are.