How Is Social Media Being Used To Carry Out Due Diligence And Vetting?

LinkedIn was once the main platform people used for their online career networking, but that’s no longer how many employers, insurers and investors assess people online. Instagram feeds, TikTok videos and X accounts now go together with CVs and pitch decks during decision making.

Maria Rosey, founder at Viral Nest PR, said, “I don’t think most people realise that when someone decides to reach out to them for a job, hiring managers, venture capitalists, and insurers have likely already looked at their profile on LinkedIn, Instagram, and X (previously Twitter) prior to doing so. For many people, this may be the only way that they are reviewing candidates in the hiring process. Social media has effectively taken over as the reference check that most people were not aware of!”

Employment Hero reported that 94% of professional recruiters use social media recruitment. Research from the Aberdeen Group also found that 73% of people aged 18 to 34 found their last job through social media. Employment Hero also reported that 79% of job applicants use social media to search for roles.

Recruitment teams now spend time building employer brands online through posts designed to attract workers. Employment Hero reported that around 90% of recruiters use LinkedIn and 55% use Facebook for recruitment activity.

Social media pages now function like public CVs for many users. Recruiters inspect work history, opinions, friendships and personal interests before speaking to applicants. Investors and insurers inspect the same profiles when reviewing people.

What Happens When Personal Profiles Influence Professional Decisions?

Social media now affects recruitment and finance in ways many users never expected. A photo from years ago or an emotional post written late at night can stay online long after the original moment passed.

Rosey said, “I have concerns about how people within these sectors have taken established processes to guide their methods for quantifying people or narrowing down candidates for employment by strolling through individual employees’ or candidates’ social media sites and making those same decisions without the existence of a process or verification that it is an appropriate or equitable way of judging an individual.”

She also said, “Your work history, life experience, and job-seeking existence depicted on social media may have limited your chance of getting the job, sometimes even prior to actually submitting your application. This issue can be further complicated by the ability to obtain financing or insurance. How far across the line does checking out an applicant’s social media profile become an act of discrimination?”

Many employers encourage workers to maintain active online profiles because personal posts can help promote company culture. Employment Hero encouraged businesses to showcase employee experiences online and reported that 84% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know more than traditional advertising.

Employees now face social expectations that go beyond office hours and formal working relationships. Online visibility can influence hiring prospects and investment opportunities – just your overall professional reputation.

Employment Hero also encouraged businesses to engage with audiences regularly through comments, posts and updates. The company reported that 80% of people expect brands to reply on social media and 90% expect responses within a day.

Why Are Scams Thriving In These Spaces?

The race for online visibility also creates opportunities for fraudsters targeting people searching for work, investment or cheaper services. Public profiles make users easier to approach through fake job offers, false investment opportunities and phishing scams.

Rosey said, “What I think gets ignored most is the scam risk this creates. When you feel pressured to put more of yourself online just to seem credible, you become an easy target. Fake recruiters, phoney investors, phishing links dressed up as real opportunities. The more visible you are, the more exposed you are.”

We recently spoke about how social media now influences insurance sales for younger drivers in the UK, where the FCA found that 49% of drivers aged 17 to 25 had bought insurance through social media or messaging apps.

Sara Costantini, Regional Director for the UK and Ireland at CRIF, said, “The FCA’s findings about the number of young drivers buying fake insurance via social media is concerning – and may be resulting in many motorists unknowingly driving without cover.”

Employment Hero also acknowledged reputational risks connected to recruitment through social media. The company said businesses can “go viral for bad reasons just as quickly as they go viral for good reasons”.

Could Social Media Platforms Face Regulation In The Future?

Social media companies now occupy an unusual space between entertainment platforms and professional screening systems, recruiters inspect profiles for hiring decisions, investors inspect profiles before backing founders, insurers inspect profiles while marketing financial products.

Rosey said, “And this cannot stay the way it is forever. Platforms will either have to operate like regulated screening tools, or laws will push them out of that role. Right now, they sit in a comfortable grey area. That is the real problem.”

The issue no longer affects only influencers or public figures. Everyday workers now build online identities that can affect jobs, insurance access and funding opportunities. Many users never intended their social profiles to operate as professional records, though employers and companies now treat them that way.

Traditional references and formal interviews once had more influence during recruitment and financial assessments. Social media now occupies much of that space because profiles offer instant access to personal lives.

A social media account now functions as entertainment profile, networking tool, advertising channel and professional portfolio all at once.