Legal Concerns When Considering Social Media Data in Selection

Schmidt, Gordon B.; O’Connor, Kimberly W.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-29989-1_13

Cited by 12 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…SMAs have made noteworthy strides recently within academic literature (Davison et al, 2012(Davison et al, , 2016Kluemper, 2013;Ployhart, 2012;Van Iddekinge et al, 2016). However, SMAs in applied practice are seemingly lacking in both validity and ethicality (Jeske & Shultz, 2016;Roth et al, 2016;Schmidt & O'Connor, 2016) While these findings primarily support our hypotheses, two interesting elements that were in opposition to our were procedural consistency and separate rater(s) from decision maker(s).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

“…SMAs have made noteworthy strides recently within academic literature (Davison et al, 2012, 2016; Kluemper, 2013; Ployhart, 2012; Van Iddekinge et al, 2016). However, SMAs in applied practice are seemingly lacking in both validity and ethicality (Jeske & Shultz, 2016; Roth et al, 2016; Schmidt & O'Connor, 2016). In the academic setting, one bright outlook corresponds to the procedural consistency and measurement elements of SMAs, as demonstrated in Study 1.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Structuring social media assessments in employee selection

Hartwell

Harrison

Chauhan

et al. 2022

Int J Selection Assessment

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Social media assessments (SMAs) are a common, relatively new, practice in employee selection. However, SMAs are generally conducted in an informal way, leaving organizations with a practice low in reliability and validity, as well as opening up potential legal and ethical issues. We propose a framework of nine SMA structural components based on previously developed interview structural components. Effects of each component on reliability, validity, user reactions, and legality are discussed. We conduct two studies that measure the utilization of each structural component in research literature and in practice. Study 1 is a content analysis of prior SMA academic research. Results indicate the highest use for the procedural consistency and rating scales used and the lowest utilization of documentation. Study 2 surveyed hiring professionals to examine the structure level typically utilized for SMAs in practice. Results indicate low levels of structure for most components, which demonstrates a need for structural improvement when SMAs are used in hiring. We discuss the implications of our research and provide recommendations for structuring SMAs in both research and practice.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structuring social media assessments in employee selection

Hartwell

Harrison

Chauhan

et al. 2022

Int J Selection Assessment

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“…It is important to demonstrate that scores or ratings are consistent across different groups, and that a measure does not unfairly discriminate against applicants based on sex, race, or against other features of protected groups. Facebook profiles generally include written content and pictures allowing raters to easily obtain information about applicant age, ethnicity, religion, sex, and disabilities (Schmidt & O'Connor, ). Extant research on Facebook‐based assessments has highlighted potential adverse impact of such assessments, with more positive ratings reported for female and White applicants (Van Iddekinge et al., ).…”

Section: The Ram and Linkedin Assessmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

LinkedIn as a new selection method: Psychometric properties and assessment approach

Roulin

Levashina

2018

Personnel Psychology

132

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Various surveys suggest LinkedIn is used as a screening and selection tool by many hiring managers. Despite this widespread use, fairly little is known about whether LinkedIn meets established selection criteria, such as reliability, validity, and legality (i.e., no adverse impact). We examine the properties of LinkedIn‐based assessments in two studies. Study 1 shows that raters reach acceptable levels of consistency in their assessments of applicant skills, personality, and cognitive ability. Initial ratings also correlate with subsequent ratings done 1‐year later (i.e., demonstrating temporal stability), with slightly higher correlations when profile updates are taken into account. Initial LinkedIn‐based ratings correlate with self‐reports for more visible skills (leadership, communication, and planning) and personality traits (Extraversion), and for cognitive ability. LinkedIn‐based hiring recommendations are positively associated with indicators of career success. Potential adverse impact is also limited. Profiles that are longer, include a picture, and have more connections are rated more positively. Some of those features are valid cues to applicants’ characteristics (e.g., applicants high on Conscientiousness have longer profiles). In Study 2, we show that an itemized LinkedIn assessment is more effective than a global assessment. Implications of these findings for selection and future research are discussed.

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“…Ollington et al (2013) identified the following four distinct mechanisms recruiters use on various social networking sites: (1) connecting job seekers through secondary connections and establishing themselves as highly connected nodes in online social networks, (2) building their own online brand, (3) offering job seekers access to specialized online resources that are normally only available to recruiters, and finally, (4) acquiring accurate data about job seekers. And while employers’ use of social media can positively influence corporate reputation and indirectly increase job applicants’ intention to apply for a job with an organization (Sivertzen et al, 2013), there are some potential risks and challenges associated with using social media for attracting, recruiting, and screening job applicants, including negative biases toward minorities (Ruggs et al, 2016), legal concerns (Schmidt & O’Connor, 2016), misrepresentation, and misattribution of job applicants (Frantz et al, 2016).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cybervetting and the Public Life of Social Media Data

Gruzd

Jacobson

Dubois

2020

Social Media + Society

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The article examines whether and how the ever-evolving practice of using social media to screen job applicants may undermine people’s trust in the organizations that are engaging in this practice. Using a survey of 429 participants, we assess whether their comfort level with cybervetting can be explained by the factors outlined by Petronio’s communication privacy management theory: culture, gender, motivation, and risk-benefit ratio. We find that respondents from India are significantly more comfortable with social media screening than those living in the United States. We did not find any gender-based differences in individuals’ comfort with social media screening, which suggests that there may be some consistent set of norms, expectations, or “privacy rules” that apply in the context of employment seeking—irrespective of gender. As a theoretical contribution, we apply the communication privacy management theory to analyze information that is publicly available, which offers a unique extension of the theory that focuses on private information. Importantly, the research suggests that privacy boundaries are not only important when it comes to private information, but also with information that is publicly available on social media. The research identifies that just because social media data are public, does not mean people do not have context-specific and data-specific expectations of privacy.

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Legal Concerns When Considering Social Media Data in Selection

Cited by 12 publications

References 10 publications

Structuring social media assessments in employee selection

Structuring social media assessments in employee selection

LinkedIn as a new selection method: Psychometric properties and assessment approach

Cybervetting and the Public Life of Social Media Data

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