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Memorandum
Date: To: From: Subject: Action Required: February 15th, 2014 Director of HR Matthew Scorpio, PetroChem Recruiter Virtual Profile Report Guidelines No Action Required

Attached is a set of instructions to assist recruiters in completing virtual profile reports. My hope is that recruiters will be better able to formulate recommendations on job candidates based on their virtual identity. The end result will enhance the process of narrowing the candidate pool considerably and with a much more consistent outcome. Enclosed: 1. Guidelines to Writing a Virtual Profile Report 2. Supplemental Material If you have any questions or concerns you may contact be my email at scor51@tamu.edu or by phone at 830-388-1970

Guidelines to Writing a Virtual Profile Report

Image from Microsoft Word

Overview The purpose of these guidelines is to assist the user in creating a virtual profile report on a candidate for a job opening here at PetroChem. There will be many times where you will be requested by management to provide a recommendation as to whether a candidate should be moved further in the hiring process or no longer be considered for the opening. It is imperative that you are able to properly formulate opinions based on a wide range of information available to you. Your recommendation will likely impact future hiring decisions made at PetroChem. Materials required Computer with a reliable Internet connection A notepad or electronic means to save and summarize your findings A copy of any documents, such as a rsum or cover letter provided by the candidate

Time expected: 2 hours

Breakdown of guidelines
I. Getting Started A. Information of interest How to find it B. What the information means Breakdown of steps Sample template Closing Statement

II. III. IV.

I.

Getting Started

A. What you are looking for

It is critical that you are able to distinguish what details are important to your task from the well of information you will find on the Internet. You are primarily looking for information on the candidates personality, social habits, and work ethics. Remember, you will be using the information you find to formulate and back up an opinion of the candidate. Any details that are not directly related to your opinion or to the reasoning behind it should be discarded. How to find it The primary method you will be using to find information on the candidate will be through Internet searches. Search engines such as Google and Bing as well as through social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. The simple method is to open up a search engine such as google.com, type in the candidates name, and see what comes up. If the candidate has a common name, such as John Doe, you will have to narrow the search by also including the candidates university or hometown in your search. The same goes for searching through social media sites. You want to be certain that the information you find is accurate and that you do not make a recommendation based on incorrect information*. If you have any questions concerning social media and the information found there you may consult the attachments at the end of these guidelines. *In your recommendation be sure to include any possible sources of error in your information so that whoever is reading your recommendation is aware that it may not be 100% accurate.

B. What the information means

Once you have the desired information on the candidate prepare to formulate a recommendation based on what you have found. To do this you must be able to make assumptions on the candidates character and determine if the candidate would be a proper fit for PetroChem. In order to make accurate assumptions you need to analyze the information you have found in an objective manner. For an example of creating assumptions from observations please refer to figure 1 on the next page.

4 Figure 1 Observation The candidate has many pictures of himself or herself going to bars or parties. Candidate has a well-developed LinkedIn profile with a lot of connections. Candidate is seen tweeting negatively about a previous employer. Assumption The candidate frequently acts irresponsibly. The candidate is active in the industry and is adept at networking. The candidate is disrespectful and may prove to be a liability to the company if hired.

Remember, PetroChem values respectful, responsible, and hardworking employees that are able to work well with others. If the candidate does not display these qualities they may not be the best choice for the position.

III.
Before Search Locate Activity Getting Started 1. Search candidate

Steps to complete report

During Blogs Social Media After Write Down Findings Opinions Write recommendation

Use a search engine to search candidate in order to find your primary sources of information 2. List locations where candidate displays activity Make note of where candidate displays activity, this list will be used as a cross reference to make sure all sources of information you found are utilized. Reviewing Information 3. Review any blogs Look through any blogs you found and write down any relevant information such as the topic and how well developed the blog is.

4. Find the candidate on social media If your Internet search did not yield any social media sites you should manually search through the popular sites to find the candidates social media activity. 5. Obtain access to view social media In many cases you will be unable to view information displayed on a candidates social media profile. If this happens, obtain the ability to view this information by the method required by the site*. *For Facebook this may require sending the candidate a friend request and for LinkedIn it may require connecting to the candidate. Other social media sites may require different methods, for those you should research the method required and act accordingly. 6. Review social media and other sources of information Look through any sources of information available at this time. This includes Facebook photos and wall posts, their Facebook friends list and groups they are a part of, their Twitter account, and any other source you have not yet utilized. Completing recommendation 7. Write down all findings Compile all of the information you have found into a coherent list. You will use this list to help you make your assumptions. 8. Derive opinions Using the list you compiled from the previous step determine whether or not the candidate would be a good fit for PetroChem and should be moved forward in the hiring process or no longer be considered for the position. 9. Write recommendation Based on your conclusion from the previous step you should now put your recommendation into a form that you will present to whomever requested the report. A sample recommendation report is included as an attachment to these guidelines.

IV.

Sample template

Here is a sample organizational tool to help give you a better understanding of how to summarize your findings. I created a virtual profile report on myself using this template for the purpose of providing an example with these guidelines. Both a blank template and my sample report are attached to these guidelines. Steps 1) Search Findings 2) Blogs and Blog Topics 3) Social Media 4) LinkedIn 5) Facebook Photos 6) Facebook Statuses Observations Candidate has a Facebook Profile Candidate does not have a blog Candidate has a Facebook profile Candidate does not have a LinkedIn profile Candidate has many pictures of social and family activities Posts mainly about social activity and his service fraternity Derived Opinions

7) Facebook Wall

8) Facebook Friends

9) Other Social Media

Most posts on candidates Facebook are posts from the candidates friends Candidate associates himself with those of his age, none of which display a large amount of inappropriate behavior Candidate is not active on other social media sites Candidate does not have many pictures of himself participating in service events he claims to

Candidate does not waste time on multiple social media sites Candidate is not as involved in the industry as would be liked Candidate displays strong social skills and family values Candidate is very involved in his organization, could display same level of involvement with PetroChem The candidate is well liked and well respected among his friends. Candidate associates himself with productive individuals with values similar to his own. Candidate uses time wisely by not being active on multiple social media sites Information on rsum could be incorrect, would require follow-up to confirm

10) Anything Missing?

7 participate in on rsum Nothing found was surprising or unexpected Candidate is well respected, has strong family values and social skills, associates himself with similar individuals, does not participate in irresponsible activities

11) Anything Surprising? 12) Important Overall Observations and Opinions

The candidate was not withholding information from us Candidate would be a good fit for PetroChem

VII. Closing Statement

I hope you found these guidelines helpful in assisting you in developing and creating a virtual profile report for a candidate. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to contact me by email at scor51@tamu.edu or by phone at 830-388-1970

Attachments
Enclosed Papers 1. Types of social Media 2. Information from social media 3. Sample Report 4. Blank template

1. Types of social media

There are several social media websites that will be providing you with the majority of information on the candidate. These sites are LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. LinkedIn LinkedIn is a professional networking site that is used to connect companies, employers, employees, job seekers, and everything else that could fall under the category of professional connections. Users can connect to other users by adding connections through using other users email addresses. Knowing another users email address is the only way to connect to another user. Facebook Facebook is the largest social media website on the Internet that connects people with their friends and others around them, whether at school, or work. Users are able to connect to any other user by adding them as a friend after searching their name in Facebook. Facebook allows users to post pictures of themselves and others for their friends to see, as well as statuses. Statuses are, put simply, anything the user desires to share with others, whether it be something that happened to them, personal opinions, or current events. This information is stored on the users profiles and on their Facebook wall located on their profile. However, most users privacy settings are set so that only those they have friended can see their photos and statuses. Twitter Twitter is a microblogging social media site that allows people to send and read tweets. Tweets are short text messages the users write about daily life and activities.

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2. Information from social media

Now that you know the basics and terminology of these social media sites you will be better able to understand the following instructions as well as understand how to formulate opinions based on the information found in these sites. LinkedIn The primary information found on a candidate using LinkedIn is the candidates previous work history and what kind of connections does the candidate have in industry. This information will show you how involved the candidate is in the industry as well as confirm their work history on listed on their rsum. Facebook photos The photos a candidate posts on Facebook constitutes some of the most valuable information you will be able to find on them online. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and the pictures on Facebook are no different. Through their photos you can learn a lot about a candidates social activities and what they enjoy doing in their free time. From this information you can derive a lot about their personality, values, and work ethics. Facebook statuses and Tweets Like with photos, you learn a lot about a candidates social activities, free time activities, and work ethics from their status posts, however, you learn a lot more about the candidates personality and values. It is not uncommon for Facebook profiles to include posts about the users religious views, political views, and daily activities. While some of this information may seem irrelevant at the time you must remember while looking at it that it is up to you to determine if the candidate would fit in well with other employees here at PetroChem, so information that seems irrelevant may be very crucial in reality. Facebook friends and groups The types of people a candidate is friends with tells a lot about what kind of people the candidate associates himself or herself with as well as what characteristics the candidate values in others. You can also determine the opinion the candidates friends have about him or her based on what they post on the candidates wall. You can also see what groups the candidate is a part of on Facebook. The groups the candidate is a part of can tell you even

11 more about their hobbies and interests. This information is very valuable because it can be used to determine whether or not a candidate would fit in well with his or her coworkers if he or she were to be choses for the position. Other social media sites It is possible that the candidate is active on other social media sites not listed above. In that case you should inspect the candidates activity on those sights as well as the others listed and use the information found just as the information found from the more common sites. The information found on these sits are just as important as the information found on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, and should be treated as such.

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3. Sample report
Below is a copy of the virtual profile report I completed on myself.

Memorandum
Date: To: From: Subject: Action Recommended: January 3rd, 2014 Cindy Raisor, Director of HR Matthew Scorpio, PetroChem Recruiter Virtual Profile Report On Job Candidate Matthew Scorpio Move Matthew Scorpio to the Preferred Candidate List

In my endeavor to narrow our applicant pool I found that there is sufficient evidence to move Mr. Scorpio to the Preferred Candidate list. He displayed the ability to use social media but did not use it excessively; also, no proof of inappropriate behavior or activities could be found from his pictures or statuses as well as the pictures and statuses of his friends. His picture showed that he is active in both family and social life; however, there was no proof of his community service activities and leadership experience found on his Facebook profile. He appears to have the respect of his peers and would fit in well with our employee base here at PetroChem based on the evidence I found. Before I begin it should be noted that the information provided was gathered solely from the applicants Facebook page and is therefore incomplete. Our opinion of this candidate should not be based completely off of this recommendation. What I did In order to narrow our applicant pool I needed to find more information on our candidates. I began this research with applicant Matthew Scorpio. I started with a basic Google Search, and upon finding no relevant pages I moved to the popular social media sites Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Mr. Scorpio had no presence on either LinkedIn or Twitter, but had a Facebook profile. I looked into his Facebook profile to determine what information I could find. His profile displayed almost no pertinent information due to privacy settings, so my next step was to send Mr. Scorpio a friend request so that I could view his profile. He accepted my request, but I am unsure if it was because he looked at my own profile and determined I was an employee here at PetroChem or if it is because he accepts everyone who sends him a

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request. The latter is unlikely seeing as Mr. Scorpio has 522 friends, a relatively average number of friends for his age group. He associates himself with productive individuals Most of Mr. Scorpios friends appeared to be around his age, with the exception of a handful of middle-aged adults. This shows me that he socializes primarily with people of his own age as opposed to those younger or markedly older than himself. None of his friends displayed any inappropriate behavior through their visible pictures and statuses. This leads me to believe that Mr. Scorpio associates himself with productive individuals with similar values to his own. What his choice in friends says about him He knows how to pick people of high quality to associate himself with. He shows an appreciation for productive people, like those we employ here at PetroChem. He is very socially active Mr. Scorpios pictures were almost exclusively of him with his family and friends. This displays that he exhibits strong social activity as well as family values. Based on his Facebook posts he is extremely active in his fraternity. On his rsum he claims that it is a service organization, however, we should follow up with him and ask him about his activities in his fraternity. Also, there is an absence of pictures displaying Mr. Scorpio participating in the numerous service events his claims he takes part in on his rsum. This raises the question whether or not he participates in as many service projects as he claims. There is also no evidence of the leadership positions he held in his organization. What his social activities say about him He is very good at socializing with his peers. He enjoys working with others, a highly valued trait here at PetroChem. Questions to ask Mr. Scorpio What kind of activities did he participate in within his fraternity? What types of service projects did he participate in?

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What leadership experience did he gain in his organization? He is respected amongst his peers From what Mr. Scorpios friends tag him in and post on his wall it can be seen that his friends hold him in very high regard. His friends display respect and appreciation for Mr. Scorpio, and from what I have seen of Mr. Scorpio this is most likely due to the respect he shows his friends as well as the values he holds. These are qualities PetroChem hold in very high regard, and assuming Mr. Scorpio were to display these values in the work place I believe he would fit in well with the other employees. Due to the fact that he has not displayed any inappropriate or questionable behavior it can be assumed that Mr. Scorpio would not in any way prove to be a liability to the company. Based on what I have observed from his Facebook profile, I believe that applicant Matthew Scorpio would be a good fit for PetroChem. What this would mean if he were to be a team member He would become a highly respected team member. He would be able to earn the respect of those under him. From the research I have concluded that Matthew Scorpio displays aptitude to be a great employee here at PetroChem. While there is not enough evidence to make him our top candidate I do feel that he is a better fit for our company than the majority of the other applicants. My advice would be to move Matthew Scorpio to the Preferred Candidate list while we await more information on the remaining candidates. My advice to you Move candidate Matthew Scorpio to the Preferred Candidate list. He exhibits a strong aptitude to be a valuable employee to our company. Also, I would recommend asking Mr. Scorpio about his organization in his interview. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact me by email at scor51@tamu.edu or by phone at 830-388-1970.

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4. Blank template
Steps 1) Search Findings 2) Blogs and Blog Topics 3) Social Media 4) LinkedIn 5) Facebook Photos 6) Facebook Statuses 7) Facebook Wall 8) Facebook Friends 9) Other Social Media 10) Anything Missing? 11) Anything Surprising? 12) Important Overall Observations and Opinions Observations Derived Opinions