This article was first published on September 26, 2012 by Online MBA. It was sent to CCC for further publication by Amanda Kostina.

Human resources is the art of working with humans (hence the name). And anyone concerned with dealing with today’s humans had better be prepared to also deal with social media. Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ are now ubiquitous platforms that are not satisfied being confined to our private lives. So for streamlining your responsibilities at work, helping move your own career along, and more, here are 40 crucial pointers about incorporating social media into your life as an HR pro.

Recruiting and Hiring

1. Be careful in your Facebook screening: Legal experts are promising that the lawsuits are about to begin involving workplace discrimination by HR people who pass over job seekers because of something they say on a Facebook profile.
2. Don’t ask for their password: An alarming trend of late is employers asking for job candidates’ Facebook passwords. Not only is this potentially unlawful, it’s downright creepy and sends a negative message to the candidate. If you want to check their page, just friend them.
3. Choose your medium based on the candidate: In using social media to court a new employee, the channel should fit the position. So if you’re wooing a vice president, go with LinkedIn for its more professional feel; for a sales rep, Twitter works fine.
4. Know before you tell: What we mean is, if you don’t personally manage the Twitter account or Facebook page, don’t direct job seekers there unless you know the profile is up-to-date (and well-managed).
5. Use online tools to gauge marketing and social media job seekers: Services like Klout, Kred, and PeerIndex are great ways to verify that people who want to do social media for your company know what they’re doing online.
6. Have a “Recently filled positions” area on your website: Allowing job hunters the ability to see what positions at your company in their area of expertise have recently been filled lets them know your company is a good option for them once a spot opens up and will keep them interested.
7. Stay away from recommendations: “Liking” an employee to other employers is really easy with social media, but it should be avoided as it could open you up to liability for failing to disclose an employee’s negative aspects.

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