• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

FedEx CEO says we are in the middle of the biggest supply chain shift he’s seen in 35 years: ‘We are the referendum’

2

26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave

3

He sold his last company to Palantir. Now he's betting $32 million that robots can fix construction's labor crisis

1

FedEx CEO says we are in the middle of the biggest supply chain shift he’s seen in 35 years: ‘We are the referendum’

2

26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave

3

He sold his last company to Palantir. Now he's betting $32 million that robots can fix construction's labor crisis
SuccessSocial Media

Gen Z admits to stalking bosses on social media. What they find could determine whether they join the team.

By
Jane Thier
Jane Thier
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jane Thier
Jane Thier
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 7, 2022, 10:08 AM ET
Hands Of Woman Using Laptop Over Colored Background
“Insta-stalking” can help job candidates assess a company’s culture.Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Turns out, stalking someone’s social media in the workplace is a two-way street: It’s not just a way for managers to vet new hires, but a way for job hunters to get the lowdown on a potential boss. 

More than half (54%) of young workers research individual managers on social media when prepping for interviews, a new survey by recruiting software firm iCIMS found. Of the 1,000 recent grads it polled, 70% also admitted to looking at employers’ sites when prepping for interviews. Gen Zers say all the online snooping helps them determine whether a job will be the right fit.

Ollie Lash-Williams, a marketing executive in the U.K., tells Fortune he “can’t imagine” not stalking a potential manager, because of how revealing a social media presence can be.

“One of the reasons I fought to get a previous role was that hiring manager’s [social media] showed someone creative, innovative, ambitious,” he explains. “I figured that would make her exciting to work for.”

His read turned out to be correct, as he found her to be an “inspiring” boss and one of the best he’s ever worked for. Another search for a different role proved the opposite: Lash-Williams considered the social media profile of a would-be coworker to be “abrasive.” He took the job anyway, but found that coworker extremely difficult to work with and quit not long after. 

Beyond looking at just individual employees, “Insta-stalking” is a popular tool for assessing a company’s culture. In 2020, career site The Muse published a how-to piece for job seekers outlining exactly how to find their future boss’s page online—and how to leverage what you find in an interview to establish a rapport with them. But, it acknowledges, doing so can be a fine line to walk.

But managers social-media creep, too

Perhaps stalking potential bosses is so common because employees often worry about employers creeping on them first. In a 2018 Gartner report, half of large corporations admitted to monitoring the content of employee emails and social media accounts. 

That’s within their rights; there are no federal laws that prohibit the practice, and companies may have good reason to do it if they suspect a worker is posting things that don’t align with the brand reputation. Some may cite constitutional rights to freedom of expression, but discipline for what’s posted on public social media pages—both of job candidates and hiring managers—are fair game. 

That’s why Sarah Fraser, a public relations executive in the Bay Area, keeps all her social media accounts under lock and key. “I have nothing to hide, it’s just too easy for people to stalk,” she tweeted at Fortune. 

Recruiters say there are better ways of getting a read on a company than snooping through its employees’ Instagram accounts. In the iCIMS survey, they said video testimonials on a company’s site from employees, detailed job descriptions, and social media and email or text campaigns with candidates would go a long way toward bridging the gap between on-paper and real-life experience.  

But, considering that they’re among those being snooped on, they might be a little biased. Lash-Williams maintains that would-be coworkers’ social media pages can be some of the best indicators of a future employer experience for job seekers. “It’s almost reckless not to search many social media profiles as you consider a role,” he says.

Sign up for the Fortune Features email list so you don’t miss our biggest features, exclusive interviews, and investigations.

About the Author
By Jane Thier
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Success

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Success

scam
CybersecurityCrime
‘I want to cry, I want to vomit’: Meet a 43-year-old who lost $90,000 to an online boyfriend she never met
By Juliet Linderman and The Associated PressJuly 16, 2026
2 hours ago
lj
SuccessLeBron James
The $500 million LeBron James sweepstakes: 5 cities race for the right to boost their economy with the chosen one
By Joshua HongJuly 16, 2026
5 hours ago
Lamine Yamal #19 of Spain
SuccessWorld Cup
Lamine Yamal is the third-youngest World Cup finalist—and he was scouted from his working-class neighborhood at just 6 years old
By Emma BurleighJuly 16, 2026
5 hours ago
Jamie Dimon surrounded by construction workers.
SuccessCareers
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says 300,000 workers are needed to rebuild American shipbuilding—with jobs paying $100,000 without a college degree
By Preston ForeJuly 16, 2026
6 hours ago
school
AIEducation
84% of students use AI for homework. Only 3 in 10 schools have rules for it
By Brett DeJager and The ConversationJuly 16, 2026
7 hours ago
Morgan Stanley headquarters building in New York City.
BankingCFO Daily
Morgan Stanley is riding high on the IPO boom with 70% of the top 100 unicorns in its pipeline, CFO says
By Sheryl EstradaJuly 16, 2026
8 hours ago

Most Popular

FedEx CEO says we are in the middle of the biggest supply chain shift he’s seen in 35 years: ‘We are the referendum’
C-Suite
FedEx CEO says we are in the middle of the biggest supply chain shift he’s seen in 35 years: ‘We are the referendum’
By Fortune EditorsJuly 15, 2026
1 day ago
26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
Law
26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
By Barbara Ortutay, Alexandra Olson and The Associated PressJuly 15, 2026
1 day ago
He sold his last company to Palantir. Now he's betting $32 million that robots can fix construction's labor crisis
Innovation
He sold his last company to Palantir. Now he's betting $32 million that robots can fix construction's labor crisis
By Lily Mae LazarusJuly 15, 2026
1 day ago
Trump's 'American Flag Blue' in the Lincoln Memorial pool is already gray — and the Olympic canoer 'vandal' is fighting his arrest
Politics
Trump's 'American Flag Blue' in the Lincoln Memorial pool is already gray — and the Olympic canoer 'vandal' is fighting his arrest
By Matthew Daly and The Associated PressJuly 16, 2026
9 hours ago
MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly
Newsletters
MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly
By Sydney LakeJuly 14, 2026
2 days ago
Jamie Dimon understands why people are anti-rich: 'We have, in fact, left the lower-income folks behind' and 'that's kind of annoying'
Economy
Jamie Dimon understands why people are anti-rich: 'We have, in fact, left the lower-income folks behind' and 'that's kind of annoying'
By Eleanor PringleJuly 15, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.