Do hiring managers and recruiters access private Facebook profiles of job candidates to gain information about them? How?

[M. FALLAH]

My name is Mina and I am a graduate student. Actually I am focusing my research on how social network sites are used today in employment industry.

In most articles I read so far, checking Facebook accounts of job seekers is often discussed. However, it seems like there is no problem accessing private accounts, as there is little hint to limited access to private profiles for companies.

I know there are different ways that people can access private profiles. But I would like to know what in reality recruiters do when they come to private accounts.

[Jim Durbin]

They type in the name.  The Facebook graph is more open than you think, and you can get a lot of information just by searching. 

For larger companies and those that are savvy, they use Facebook as bait for a careers page, which gets people to reach out to them rather than the other way around. 

Also - friends of friends allows you to see networks inside Facebook.  That would open up other profiles.