Looking for a Job? Be Careful About Social Media Posts

Topic(s): fairness, selection
Publication: International Journal of Selection and Assessment
Article: Who’s posting Facebook faux pas? A cross-cultural examination of personality differences
Authors: K. Karl, J. Peluchette, C. Schlaegel
Reviewed by: Benjamin Granger

Recent research suggests that a sizeable number of recruiters and organizations have reported eliminating applicants from consideration because of information posted on applicants’ personal profiles on social networking sites. In the current study, researchers (Karl et al., 2010) investigated personality and cultural differences that help explain which people are more likely to post what they refer to as “Facebook faux pas” (e.g., content related to sex or drug/alcohol use), which can ultimately put them at risk for not receiving a job offer.

THE RESEARCH STUDY

The researchers surveyed 346 American and 290 German undergraduate business students about their use of social networking sites, the type of information they willingly post on these sites, and their personalities.

The authors found that those people high in conscientiousness, emotional stability, and agreeableness were less likely to post “Facebook faux pas” than those lower in these personality traits. Interestingly, there was a general trend of American participants being more likely to post “Facebook faux pas” than German participants. The authors speculate that this is due to Americans being more individualistic and less concerned with rules and conventions than Germans.

From an organization’s perspective, social networking sites are a free and easily accessible source of information about job applicants’ attitudes, values, and volitional behaviors. Employers may reason that applicants who post inappropriate content on these sites may be more likely to have performance problems on the job (e.g., inappropriate use of the internet, lack of integrity, incongruent values with the organization). Indeed, just as this study suggests that people low in conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability are more likely to post inappropriate content, research suggests that these individuals are also more likely to engage in counterproductive work behavior.

THE BOTTOM LINE

As far as organizations are concerned, social networking sites may seem to provide a realistic view of a job applicant’s typical behavior and attitudes while not at work. Still, if this information is irrelevant to the job, it should not be used to make hiring decisions. Ultimately, whether or not use of such information is justified, job applicants should know that posting inappropriate information about themselves may make it more difficult to compete in the selection process and ultimately land a job offer.

 

Karl, K., Peluchette, J., & Schlaegel, C. (2010). Who’s posting Facebook faux pas? A cross-cultural examination of personality differences. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 18(2), 174–186.

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