Getting social in selection: How social networking website content is perceived and used in hiring

Abstract

The use of social networking websites (SNWs) during employee selection is gaining popularity in organizations. Using a foundation that integrates identity and situational strength theories, we develop a conceptual framework that differentiates SNW information from information gathered through traditional selection procedures, and distinguishes between SNW types. Research questions and hypotheses are tested using a survey of 291 hiring professionals. Results indicate that SNW content is considered useful and is regularly utilized during hiring. Some SNW content is viewed positively (e.g., information supporting qualifications), while other information leads to negative perceptions (e.g., discriminatory comments). Finally, results support a differentiation between personal and professional SNW, as the kind of information sought and the effectiveness of assessing various work-related constructs differs between these SNW categories. K E Y W O R D Sability/knowledge/skills, other assessments, recruitment, selection/placement

Job seekers' attitudes toward cybervetting: Scale development, validation, and platform comparison

“…When posting these types of personal information, most people are not expecting employers to use them to evaluate job‐related competencies (Mgrditchian, 2015). However, behaviors, values, or competencies shown through group affiliations, friendships, photographs, and commentary are exactly what employers look for to determine the organizational fit of an applicant (Davison et al, 2016; Hartwell & Campion, 2019; Roulin & Bangerter, 2013; Tews et al, 2020; Zhang et al, 2020). Seminal privacy research from both Altman (1975) and Westin (1967) shows that there is a preference for boundaries between an individual and the environment in which they operate.…”

“…For instance, instead of looking at LinkedIn profiles for all applicants, organizations may look at LinkedIn for one and Twitter for another. This discrepancy is another cause for concern, given that hiring professionals often look for negative information on personal social media sites (i.e., Facebook), but look for more positive information on professional sites such as LinkedIn (Hartwell & Campion, 2019; Tews et al, 2020). Further, applicants are not all posting the same type or quantity of information on their profiles.…”

“…Social media is so common in industrialized cultures that not having an online profile sometimes results in employers making assumptions about social‐, technology‐, and computer‐related competencies (Stoughton, Thompson, & Meade, 2015). Additionally, recent studies with professional hiring managers (Berkelaar, 2017; Hartwell & Campion, 2019; Tews, Stafford, & Kudler, 2020) and university students with no actual hiring experience (Melton, Miller, Jensen, & Shah, 2018) highlight that both groups provide similar reasons for wanting to engage in cybervetting and similar ways in which they are influenced by an applicant's social media presence. For example, both hiring managers and students believe that screening applicants’ social media profiles allow for an assessment of their personality that is less influenced by impression management as compared to conducting an in‐person interview.…”

Cybervetting prospective employees of SMEs

“…The presented qualitative analyses of interviews and observations of 36 Swedish hiring managers suggest that jobseekers are either expected to disclose information that can be found online in a proactive manner or to confess when confronted with the findings reactively. Hartwell & Campion (2019) results indicate that SNSs content is considered useful and is regularly utilized during hiring. Some SNSs content is viewed positively (e.g., information supporting qualifications), while other information leads to negative perceptions (e.g., discriminatory comments).…”

“…Another SNSs key characteristic is that they can take the form of either personal (or nonprofessional) networks (e.g., Facebook, Instagram) or professional networks that connect applicants with potential employers (e.g., LinkedIn) (Hanna et al, 2011;Hartwell & Campion, 2019;Nikolaou, 2014;Smith & Kidder, 2010;Suen, 2018;Zide et al, 2014). Within personal SNSs, users share substantial amounts of private information, regularly communicate and collaborate (Lewis et al, 2008;Subrahmanyam et al, 2008) and/or use game or applications (Rienties et al, 2010).…”