1. Chauhan, Buckley, & Harvey (2013) Facebook

8/10/2019 1. Chauhan, Buckley, & Harvey (2013) Facebook

1/9

+ Models

ORGDYN-459; No. of Pages 9

Please

cite

this

article

in

press

as:

R.S.

Chauhan,

et

al.,

Facebook

and

personnel

selection:Q1,

Organ

Dyn

(2013),

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006

Facebook

and

personnel

selection:

Whats

the

big

deal?

Rahul S. Chauhan, M. Ronald Buckley, Michael G. Harvey

FACEBOOK: WHAT IS IT? SHOULD WE CARE?

Considering the fact that Facebook.com is worlds mostfrequently visited website in the world, it is hard to imaginethat every single person reading this article does not knowof someone who has a Facebook profile. Facebook usersrange from modern popular Hollywood celebrities, such asJustin Bieber andJason Timberlake, to elderly individuals including

a

102-year-old

great-grandmother.

According

to avariety of sources, individuals spend more time on Face-book than they do on Google, Amazon, Wikipedia, YouTube,and Yahoo combined. So what exactly is it about thiswebsite,

which

was only

founded

in 2004,

that attracts

over 18 percent of the entire worlds population and keepsthem coming back?

Facebook.com is a social networking website (SNW).Facebook and

most

other SNWs

allow

their users

to createa personal profile that displays information about the userand articulate a network of friends or others usersbetween whom profile information is shared. Facebookprovides

multiple services

to its users.

Users begin bycreating a personal profile, which generally includes infor-mation about their education and work experience, birthdate, location and contact information, hobbies, personalinterests, and more controversial information such as poli-tical affiliations, religious beliefs, and sexual orientation.Facebook users may also choose to upload a changeablephotograph that will be associated with their account at alltimes. Users may then decide to configure privacy settings,allowing only select individuals such as those within theirwork or school network, as well as general friends, toview this information. Regardless of an individuals privacy

settings, however, a users networks, mutual friends, andprofile picture are generally visible to anyone who searchesfor any particular user, including interested organizationsand employers (with the exception of those users whorequest themselves to be unsearchable). It is importantto note that friends, family, colleagues, and individualswho are within a users networks are generally given moreaccess to the users profile information when compared tothe general public.

After a user has created a personal profile, she or he canthen search for other friends to add to their friends list.Conversely, Facebook users may also choose to defriendany

of their previously

added

friends,

at

which

point that

individual will have

restricted

access

to the users informa-tion if privacy settings are enabled. Similarly, other indivi-duals may also request that the user add them to theirfriends

list.

Built-in

tools are

in place

to help

users

find

eachothers friends. For example, a mutual friend of two users(whom are not Facebook friends with each other them-selves) may find each other through this mutual friend.Furthermore, users

can

choose to send

private

messages,instant messages, and publicly comment on their friendsFacebook wall.

The wall acts as a forum where the profile page holderand

other

users

can

write

public

messages.

Unless

a

usersends a private message to another user, however, the activ-ities that a user performs on Facebook such as uploading a

picture or commenting on another users wall is broad-cast

to

this

users

friends

in

the

form

of

a

newsfeed.

This

mayallow anyone, even non-Facebook users, to view all of theseactivities if privacy settings are not in place to prevent this.Users may also choose to tag their friends in photos thatare uploaded; enabling those photos to also show up on theprofiles of the tagged individuals. It is critical to note thata photograph of a user may be tagged without his or herconsent, although they are generally notified through anautomatic system.

Organizational

Dynamics

(2013) xxx, xxxxxx

Note: The authors would like to express their appreciation for thevaluable

input

of

Professor

Slocum

in

the

revisions

of

this

manuscript.

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

journal homepage: www.elsevier .co m/loc ate /orgdyn

0090-2616/$

see

front

matter # 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00902616http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00902616http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006


2/9

FACEBOOK VERSUS OTHER SOCIALNETWORKS

There are a plethora of SNWs in the marketplace today, manyof

which

provide

similar

services

as

Facebook.

Some,

such

asMySpace, have been around even longer than Facebook andat one point had a larger number of users. So then why isFacebook the indisputable dominate social network today?

Specifically,

what

makes

Facebooks

900

million

usersactively return to the website and spend hours of theirday on it? Let us first briefly describe and mention some ofthe competing SNWs.

Twitter

has

over

half

a

billion

users,

but

only

allows

itsusers to send and read solely text-based messages(tweets) that can be up to 140 characters. Users canfollow other users, which essentially acts as a subscriptionservice that notifies subscribers whenever the user they arefollowing tweets. Considering that Facebook offers thesame exact service via status updates, Facebook users areable to utilize this same feature in addition to the seeminglyendless other features available to Facebook users, such asinstant messaging and the sharing of photos and videos.

Myspace was the first widely recognized SNW and cur-rently has approximately 25 million users. Although Myspacedid have a larger number of users than Facebook up until2008, Myspaces decline has been attributed to a number ofreasons, including lack of innovation and particular focustowards music, entertainment, and customization of theusers profile. In contrast, Facebook provides a uniform,easy-to-use interface that is well-received with minimallydistracting arbitrary graphics.

With over 175 million members across the world, Linkedinclaims it is the worlds largest professional network. Sincethis SNW is specifically designed to appeal to professionalnetworking, it offers only a minimal amount (particularly

geared

towards

communication)

of

the

features

that

Face-book

offers.

Furthermore,

this

network

appeals

to

a

uniquedemographic (e.g., business professionals) Facebook, on theother hand, appeals to virtually all categories of individualsregardless of age, sex, race, and a variety of other individualdifferences.

For

example,

for

adolescents

and

young

adults,Facebook

may

primarily

offer

a

means

of

entertainmentbeyond social interconnectedness. For middle-aged indivi-duals, Facebook may provide a means of communicating orkeeping in touch with friends, families, and colleaguesthrough

a

central

source

(Facebook.com).

For

elderly

indi-viduals, Facebook may provide a means of viewing photo-graphs and videos of their families in a convenient and easy-to-navigate manner.

Although Twitter, Myspace, and Linkedin are free andgenerally accessible from more than one platform; Facebookprovides its users with all of the features that these otherSNWs provide (and more) in one convenient, user-friendlylocation. For example, Facebook allows its users to commu-nicate with anyone who has Internet access globally througha variety of media such as photographs, videos, email-likepersonal messaging, public messaging on the Wall, sharing ofinternet links to virtually anything, and recently even videochat (currently being developed and implemented by Face-book), without being charged a single cent. The benefit offree and infinite communication through a variety of mediawithout any financial cost is a powerful benefit to any

individual

who

may

value

the

services

that

Facebook

offers.In terms of convenience and accessibility, Facebook users canaccess the service through their desktop computers, laptopcomputers, tablets such as an iPad, virtually most modernmobile

phones,

Internet-equipped

televisions,

and

enter-tainment consoles such as a PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, orWii, among other means. Although the entire line of featuresthat Facebook offers to its users is only available to indivi-

duals

using

desktop

or

laptop

computers,

the

most

utilizedfeatures of Facebook are generally accessible through anydevice that can access it. Facebook is also a popular methodforusers to share photographs and videos with their Facebookfriends

(be

it

family,

friends,

or

colleagues)

without

physi-cally having to mail them or without the need to have theirFacebook friends present in person.

WHERE IS FACEBOOK GOING?

We believe the population of Facebook users will continue togrow,

due

to

its

increasing

popularity,

and

as

technologyexpands and becomes increasingly available across the globe.

Indeed,

at

Facebooks

launch

in

2004,

the

SNW

had

only

1million users. In only one year, the number of users jumped to5.5

million

users.

In

subsequent

years,

Facebook

had

over

12million users in 2006, 50 million users in 2007, 100 millionusers in 2008, 350 million users in 2009, 500 million users in2010, 800 million in 2011, and over 900 million in 2012. Thisincredible growth rate is unlikely to subside in the nearfuture, considering the fact that the number of Facebookusers has exponentially increased in recent years.

In response, it is predicted that employers and their HRdepartments will begin utilizing Facebook more in the nearand distant future. Beyond simply examining applicant Face-book profiles, organizations will likely find alternative meansto benefit from this social media giant. For example, employ-

ers have already begun advertising on Facebook. Consideringthat nearly 33 percent of the United States population has aFacebook account, advertising through Facebook could leadtowards massive benefits for many businesses. In addition toadvertisement, companies have also created corporate Face-book pages that they encourage all users to Like, essen-tially subscribing these users to daily updates and newsfeedswith regard to the businesses activities and PR efforts. Someorganizations,

such

as

restaurants

and

banks,

have

begunrewarding individuals who Like their official Facebookpage through unique and exclusive promotions such as dis-counts. It is important to note that these are only some of theunique

ways

organizations

utilize

Facebook

for

their

benefit,

and

it

is

expected

that

additional

and

potentially

novel

wayswill continue to be developed.

FACEBOOK: CAN IT BE AN EFFECTIVE TOOLFOR EMPLOYERS?

Organizations and employers commonly utilize the Internetin their recruitment and selection procedures. Indeed,employers often utilize the Internet as a means of collectingprospective employee applications, Internet-based testing,post vacancy advertisements, and to collect data on appli-cants. The Internet allows applying for a position to be asimple and inexpensive process; generally only requiring a

+ Models


Please

cite

this

article

in

press

as:

R.S.

Chauhan,

et

al.,

Facebook

and

personnel

selection:Q1,

Organ

Dyn

(2013),


2 R.S. Chauhan et al.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006


3/9

few

mice

clicks.

Although

Internet-based

recruitment

andselection procedures may not necessarily cater to all appli-cants, including older individuals who are less familiar withtechnology and minorities who may not have access to theInternet,

the

use

of

the

Internet

for

these

purposes

has

beenshown to have significant benefits. These benefits include theability to screen and process huge numbers of applications inaddition to providing a dramatic savings in the cost and time

associated

with

hiring

procedures.

Specifically,

Internet

sitescan potentially reduce the cost-per-hire from $3,295 fortraditional advertising formats to $377 for online recruiting.Furthermore, there has been an increasingly marked trendwith

regard

to

Internet-based

recruitment

within

the

lastdecade in comparison to traditional paper-based applicationprocedures, despite the fact that applicant reactions toInternet-based recruitment has not been studied.

Unfortunately, the domain of utilizing SNWs, such asFacebook, Google, LinkedIn as a tool for hiring practiceshas seldom been explored. Despite the increasing rise inthe use of these technologies, few studies have examinedthe role of the Internet in selection. That is, few studies haveempirically examined the impact and implications that using

the Internet as part of recruitment and selection proceduresmay have on HR-related decisions for both applicants andemployers.

Regardless, considering the cost-effective benefits thatorganizations may gain from utilizing the Internet in theirhiring procedures, a number of managerial guidelines havebeen proposed. First, organizations should consider postingjob openings on their websites. This allows for applicants toapply for a plethora of positions with minimal effort on thepart of employers (e.g., manually going through paper appli-cations). This process allows for a quick and efficient meansof screening through applicants and selecting those that areworthy of an interview based on the jobs desired qualifica-

tion

criteria.

After

an

applicant

has

successfully

progressedthough

this

initial

screening

phase,

employers

may

considerutilizing a general search engine, such as Google, to type inthe applicants name as part of an initial background check inorder to find out any additional information that will helpthem

avoid

hiring

bad

apples.Second,

employers

have

also

utilized

the

Internet

to

avoidnegligent hiring issues. It is common practice for organiza-tions to type an applicants name into Internet searchengines, as Google or Yahoo, as part of their standard back-ground

check

procedure.

Indeed,

courts

seem

to

be

recog-nizing Googling and Internet searches on parties as part ofa due diligence search for missing defendants and haveoverturned cases when this was not done. That is, employers

are now expected to type an applicants name into an Inter-net search engine as part of their background check processbefore hiring the individual as an additional means fordetermining whether an applicant is a threat or danger tothemselves and/or others in the workplace. This may be inaddition to seeking other information about the applicantthat may benefit selection decisions, such as informationabout past accomplishments or history that is available onthe Internet. Consequently, practitioners have warned thatin order to avoid missing potentially relevant evidence, theymust look beyond traditional venues and look at SNWs (e.g.,Facebook) due to the plethora of information about anindividual that is available on them (pictures, language,

patterns,

etc.).

However,

the

legality

of

this

practice

andits effectiveness remains a grey area in the literature.

THE APPLICATION OF FACEBOOK IN AN HRCONTEXT

One primary reason that organizations utilize Facebook as a

tool

is

that

the

fact

that

it

allows

them

to

recruit

newemployees and attract potential applicants. Organizationscan do this by posting information in the form of text,pictures, or videos that they post on the companys Facebookpage. It is important to note that a Facebook page is differentfrom a Facebook user profile in that Facebook pages havefans instead of friends and are also completely public,so they can show up on simple search engines like Google aswell. Furthermore, current employees can send out jobpostings on behalf of their organizations via a link to thecompanys Facebook page. Additionally, employers can sim-ply post job openings on the companys Facebook page. Thiswill appear on the newsfeeds of the Facebook users who haveLiked the companys Facebook page. Although Facebook

accounts for less than one percent of total hires that com-panies have made, Facebook is predicted to rival job tradi-tional job boards in the near future. Indeed, Monster.com,one of the worlds largest employment websites, hasacknowledged

its

presence

as

a

rapidly

growing

recruitingplatform.

Potentialpark, an online recruiting research lab, inter-viewed HR professionals with regard to their motives forincorporating

Facebook

into

their

HR-related

procedures.Among

their

reasons

to

use

online

search

are

the

fact

thatFacebook is a two-way interactive and engaging medium forcommunication. Furthermore, Facebook is a massive net-work with nearly 1 billion members that is completely free,

allowing

for

rich

media

such

as

pictures

and

videos

to

beposted by both the applicant and organization. Unlike Lin-kedIn, Facebook offers one single service to all of its mem-bers. That is, members do not need to pay an additional fee inorder to access and use certain features. Employers are ableto uniformly view the full range of information available onan applicants Facebook page.

Beyond recruitment and selection, organizations utilizeFacebook for a variety of reasons that may significant benefittheir organization. An organizations Facebook page offersactive, dynamic, and immediate communication with regardto any updates the organization may wish to provide. This isin contrast to an organizations website, which generallyprovides more information such as archival and background

information. Furthermore, Facebook pages are completelyfree, reducing the burden and cost of constantly updatingand maintaining the organizations website. Organizationsmay also create and publish calendar events that are avail-able to view by all Facebook users. Such events may includerecruitment, on-campus interviews, charity, or any otherevent that an organization may wish to host. Furthermore,Facebook users that RSVP to these events can invite theirFacebook friends to join as well, expanding the network anddemographic that is reached. Organizations may also decideto

post

important

links

on

their

Facebook

pages

statusupdates that can redirect Facebook users to relevant ordesired information (such as to the organizations website).

+ Models


Please

cite

this

article

in

press

as:

R.S.

Chauhan,

et

al.,

Facebook

and

personnel

selection:Q1,

Organ

Dyn

(2013),


Facebook and personnel selection 3


4/9

Marketing,

market-research,

e-commerce,

advertise-ment, and customer service are some additional and valuableuses that Facebook offers to organizations. With regard tomarketing and advertising, organizations can advertise theirlatest

products

on

their

Facebook

page

and

thus

cut

adver-tising costs dramatically, as they can spend less on traditionalmeans of advertising such as television commercials. Inaddition to simply providing a link to a new product, they

may

also

advertise

through

rich

media

including

online

videomarketing, allowing Facebook users and the general public toview this video much like they would a commercial seen ontelevision. Furthermore, organizations may choose to pay toadvertise

their

ad

on

Facebook

as

well.

Although

this

is

arelatively new feature, organizations seem to have theoption to advertise on the side panel that is visible for everyFacebook user. These advertisements will show up on aFacebook users side panel depending on their likes andpreferences, allowing organizations to target the audiencethey wish for their ads to reach. This allows a powerfulmedium for organizational marketing research. Indeed,Facebook is among the worlds largest self-maintaining data-bases available to organizations, allowing them to track the

latest trends and purchasing behaviors of their most influen-tial consumers. Organizations may do this via a feature knownas Facebook Connect, which allows organizational web-sites (such as those used for e-commerce) to link with aFacebook users profile and their overall preferences.

In addition to simply advertising new products on anorganizations Facebook page, organizations may also pro-vide links to their store, where the Facebook user can buyproducts including those that the organizations decides tomarket and advertise at the time. Furthermore, organiza-tions may also decide to provide Facebook users or indi-viduals who visit the organizations Facebook page withexclusive discounts or deals that are exclusively available

to

those who Like the

organizations Facebook page.Such

deals

or discounts

may

be

conducted in a

similarmanner as Groupon or Livingsocial, both of which arewebsites exclusively dedicated to providing their memberswith exclusive deals to a variety of participating busi-nesses.

In

terms of customer service,

there

seems

to be

agrowing trend with regard to customers turning to anorganizations social networking website when they a ques-tion, issue (particularly technical), complaint, or compli-ment

to share

with the

organization and/or others. Thereason for this seems to be that such customers expect aprompt response, and when this is not met the organiza-tions page may be plagued with increased complaints,

ultimately leading towards a poor public impression ofthe organization or business.

WHY DO EMPLOYERS LOOK AT APPLICANTSNWS?

In addition to avoiding negligent hiring lawsuits and beyondproviding information thatis generallynot available throughtraditional screening tools such as resumes, SNWs allowemployers the ability to efficiently and conveniently exam-ine readily available information at minimal cost to them-selves and their organizations. This allows for a variety of

professionals

to engage in this practice,

ranging from smallbusiness to large organizations. The additional informationavailable on an applicants profile may assist potentialemployers in their attempts to draw inferences about theapplicants characterand

personality

that

may not be

simplyobtained through standard means, potentially influencingthe employers decision-making process with regard to theapplicant. Employers may also obtain this information with

minimal

time and capital costs.

Furthermore, many arguethat applicants waive an expectation of privacy when theyplace information onto their SNWs.

Employers may also use Facebook as a means of gather-ing

additional information about

their potential

applicantsby attracting them to their company Facebook pages.According to a recent study, 84 percent of job seekershave a Facebook profile, 48 percent of all job seekers havedone at least one social job hunting activity on Facebookwithin the last year, and 16 percent have received a jobreferral form a Facebook friend. Furthermore, one in fivejob seekers have added professional information on theirFacebook profile in the past year, and over 40 percent arecollege graduates. Indeed, if an employer draws in current

or potential applicants though a business page that isspecifically designed for recruitment-related purposes,than employers may post interesting content on thesepages that generally leads to comments, discussions, andinteractions from potential applicants. These communica-tions may allow employers to infer characteristics frompotential applicants that may ultimately lead to hiringdecisions.

IS THERE ANYTHING TO BE GAINED FOR THISSOURCE OF INFORMATION?

Potential

Adverse

Impact

Adverse impact is difficult issue that employers must facewhen utilizing Facebook as part of their HR-related proce-dures. Facebook and other SNWs provide visitors with infor-mation

that

is

not

generally

available

on

a

resume.

Thisinformation

can

include

information

about

age,

sex,

andrace. For example, if an applicant had a profile picture ofhim or herself, employers who search for this individual willbe able to determine age, sex, and race despite whetherthe

individual

has

any

privacy

settings

(recall

that

an

indi-viduals profile picture is almost always visible to all users).Furthermore, the information available on Facebook aboutindividuals is not always necessarily truthful, accurate, or

representative information about the individuals perfor-mance in the workplace. For example, an individual appear-ing obviously intoxicated in a party setting may seem like apoor potential employee to employers, when in reality theindividual may be an excellent employee, despite how theyappear beyond working hours. This may lead employers tomake inaccurate judgments and predictions about the appli-cants personality and predicted behavior in the workplace.Alternatively, individuals may also design Facebook profilesin a manner that specifically appeals to employers by provid-ing only information that will be accepted positively. Indeed,there is nothing in place to prevent any Facebook user fromengaging in this practice.

+ Models


Please

cite

this

article

in

press

as:

R.S.

Chauhan,

et

al.,

Facebook

and

personnel

selection:Q1,

Organ

Dyn

(2013),




5/9


6/9

themselves,

even

if

it

is

outside

of

the

workplace,

and

may

beincongruent with or detrimental to the goals of the organiza-tion or its intended image and reputation.

With regard to employee retention, there has been arecent

increase

in

cases

where

employees

are

being

repri-manded or even terminated because of information that theyhave on SNWs. While there have been precedent cases of lawenforcement successfully utilizing Facebook to identify sus-

pects,

such

precedents

are

not

as

prevalent

as

cases

whereemployers utilize Facebook for retention decisions. Thereare several examples of cases and situations where individualemployees werebeing reprimanded or terminated becauseoftheir

behavior

on

SNWs

(including

Facebook).

Indeed,

theauthors state that SNWs are among the most prime ways tocommit career suicide. For example, a Florida sheriff wasterminated due to comments he made on his SNW profile withregard to women and his preference for heavy drinking. A 22-year-old waitress was fired for leaving negative comments onher Facebook profile with regard to customers who did notleave a tip and continued to dine after the restaurant closed.A police officer who posted information about arresting acelebrity on his SNW profile, which resulted in an internal

affairs investigation finding him guilty of invasion of privacy.A Delta Airlines flight attendant was terminated for inap-propriate conduct after posting photos of herself in uniformon a company airplane while engaging in suggestive poses. Inthe latter case, most airlines tend to regulate their employ-ees post-work conduct, and such a precedent likely led tothe result of this case. This argument does have merit, asorganizations have a stake in the reputation of their com-pany. And detrimental comments against the organizationsmade by its own employees are a threat to such a reputation.

Perhaps the most famous case involved an educationstudent at a Midwestern university that lost her teachingplacement and was refused her degree after a photo of her

labeled

drunk

pirate

was

discovered

on

her

SNW

profile.The

student

sued

but

lost

the

case,

as

the

courts

determinedthat since she was an employee of the public, she is essen-tially representing the public during and beyond her workinghours. One critical fact to consider in this case is the fact thatthis

student

had

no

privacy

settings

activated

on

her

SNWaccount.

This

case

implies

that

people

are

always

in

thepublic eye, and SNWs such as Facebook do not protect orprovide a defense against behavior that may not be acceptedas appropriate.

IS FACEBOOK REALLY A GOOD HR TOOL?

Although SNWs do provide employers an additional tool thatprovides them with cost-effective and additional informationabout applicants, there has been limited research that hasexamined the actual usefulness of SNWs as a tool for hiringprocedures. Indeed, one empirical study conducted overutilizing Facebook examined the practicality of using appli-cant personal information obtained from SNWs to enhanceemployment selection decisions. In this study, students froma large public university in the southern United States rateindividuals on their predicted big-five personality traits (i.e.,agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, extro-version, and openness), general mental ability and GPA(academic performance) based solely on the information

available

on

each

targets

SNW.

Each

rater

had

some

previousexperience with human resources, statistics, and real workexperience as well as having been trained in personality/intelligence testing and effective use of their scales. Further-more,

each

participant

was

given

a

one-hour

training

pro-gram in order to become familiar with components of thestudy such as reviewing the definitions of the big-five per-sonality traits. Participants were then asked to identify

specific

information

on

Facebook

pages

that

could

be

usedto assess the focal characteristics of the study, consequentlyfamiliarizing the participant with the rating form to be used.Inter-rater reliability was assessed to confirm rater consis-tency,

followed

by

an

assessment

of

rater

accuracy.

Thetargets in this experiment were all volunteer students whotook the big-five personality test, general mental ability test,demographics questionnaires, and were asked to providetheir college GPAs (grade point averages).

The results indicated that judges were consistent acrosstheir ratings; they were generally able to distinguishbetween high from low performers based solely on theinformation available to them from the targets Facebookpage. Furthermore, raters who scored high on intelligence

and emotional stability performed better than their counter-parts in selecting high performing applicants.

These results have a number of implications. First, theresults of this study suggest that SNWs may indeed provideinformation about an applicants personality beyond tradi-tional self-report and interview measures, providing incre-mental prediction of job performance. Second, this studysuggests that raters with higher scores on intelligence andemotional stability are better able to discriminate high fromlow performers. This suggests organizations should allowthese individuals to screen and recruit potential employeesand current applicants based upon information gatheredfrom the applicants Facebook pages.

In

order

to further evaluation these implications, weconducted

a

study examining

participant

predictions

of avariety of job-related outcomes based solely on informationavailable on Facebook pages. Specifically, we examined theeffect that the non-job-related predictor variables of per-sonality, physical attractiveness,

self-promotion, and

priv-acy

setting

have on

a

variety of job-related outcomevariables including the likelihood of being offered an inter-view, starting salary range, predicted future performance,and predictions of personality characteristics based solelyon

information obtained from synthesized Facebook pro-files. The predictor variables in this study had no significanteffect on the outcome variables, with the exception ofprivacy setting influencing predictions of conscientious-

ness. Additionally, the participant personality characteris-tic of extraversion had a significant effect on most of thewillingness to take the position, reduced turnover andincreased performance. The results of this study seem toprovide support for the notion that information obtainedfrom an applicants Facebook page may in fact predict forthe applicants personality characteristics. However,beyond personality, the results of this study also imply thatFacebook may not be as detrimental for selection purposesas previously thought, considering that none of these non-job-related variables (which generally presented on anapplicants Facebook page) had an influence on the job-related outcomes.

+ Models


Please

cite

this

article

in

press

as:

R.S.

Chauhan,

et

al.,

Facebook

and

personnel

selection:Q1,

Organ

Dyn

(2013),




7/9

IMPLICATIONS FOR FACEBOOK USERS ANDEMPLOYERS

The particular finding that privacy setting has a significanteffect on participant perceptions of conscientiousness is animportant finding that has a number of implications forFacebook users in addition to employers. This finding indi-cates Facebook users should utilize privacy settings, as theymay increase employer and HR-professional perceptions oftheir conscientiousness. Indeed, conscientiousness is argu-ably the most valued personality trait in the Big Five. It hasbeen found to be a powerful predictor of future performanceacross a variety of domains. Therefore, Facebook users arestrongly encouraged to activate stringent privacy settings, asthis may lead to favorable impressions of conscientiousness,in addition to reducing the likelihood of employer invasion ofprivacy.

Considering this information, Facebook users and appli-cants are strongly encouraged to enable privacy settings.Although and the process of enabling privacy settings may notbe clear and simple, the time required to enable privacy

settings

is

minimal,

and

doing

so

can

prevent

undesired

issueswith regard to employment. Furthermore, Facebook usersare advised against posting any incriminating information asan additional precaution against employer scrutiny. Indeed,even

the

seemingly

most

trivial

non

job-related

informationmay lead a bad taste in employers mouths, potentiallycosting them the very jobs for which they are applying.

Aside from enabling privacy settings, Facebook usersshould

consider

utilizing

their

Facebook

pages

as

an

asset.Awell-crafted and appealing persona can serve as a powerfulimpression management tactic that will appeal to employers.For example, an applicants Facebook page may act as anextension

of

his

or

her

resume,

because

it

allows

the

appli-cant to demonstrate a sense of passion and depth of knowl-

edge for his or her respective area of expertise.Facebook users should follow certain guidelines in order to

make

their

profiles

especially

appealing

to

employers.

Spe-cifically, Facebook users should begin with the profile pic-ture. This photograph will act as the first impression thatapplicants will have on potential employers. This photographshould

be

a

professional-looking

headshot.

Potential

appli-cants should also begin posting pictures of themselves enga-ging in professional work-related actions that visually displaytheir skills with short captions if necessary. For example, anindividual seeking a job in advertising may display pictures ofthemselves advertising a product at conventions or events.However, it is important to note that the last five or so

pictures

uploaded

on

Facebook

where

a

user

has

been

taggedare the five most visible photographs. Specifically, the lasttagged photographs are displayed at the top of a usersFacebook page. Therefore, applicants should monitor thesephotographs, and if necessary replace them with more pro-fessional ones. Such professional photographs may includeadditional headshots, action snaps, and photographs from aprofessional conference or event.

Applicants should also provide a description of theirunique talents and, if applicable, include any press aboutthem. If applicants have professional recommendations ortestimonials, they should certainly include these on theirFacebook pages as well. Applicants are also advised to join

professional

groups

and

associations

that

are

related

tonetworking opportunities and job news updates, as subscrib-ing to these may provide the user information that they canutilize as an advantage during their job-search. Similarly,users

should

connect

with

current

colleagues

as

well

asprevious co-workers (if applicable), as expanding user net-works may also provide access to a potential business oppor-tunity. Facebook users should include any professional

contact

information

they

may

have,

including

a

link

to

theirprofessional website or even their LinkedIn profile. This mayredirect interested employers to more favorable informationabout the applicant.

Additionally,

Facebook

users

are

encouraged

to

avoidposting information about the progress of their job searchesand the outcomes of any interviews they may have been partof. Indeed, such a mistake could lead to the applicantscurrent employer finding out that the applicant is interview-ing, which could be detrimental for the applicant if they didnot give their current employer notice that they were intend-ing on leaving the organization. Furthermore, potentialemployers may not like the idea of their interviews beingpublicized, and could also be detrimental for the applicants

chances of being selected for employment. Last, Facebookusers are simply encouraged to keep their Facebook pageupdated, proofread, and neat, much as they would do fortheir resume.

Employers

There are a number of important implications for employersto consider before utilizing SNWs as a tool for employment-related purposes. With regard to personality, employers arestrongly urged to consider the effect that the personalities oftheir HR professionals may have on recruitment, selection,and retention decisions. Indeed, the results of our study

suggest that certain personality characteristics, such asextraversion, may lead HR-professionals (who exhibit thispersonality characteristic) to be more susceptible in terms ofhiring individuals, offering them a higher starting salary, andto predict higher future performance from applicants.

Considering that the additional information available onFacebook is job-irrelevant in most cases, employers shouldnot be discouraged from looking at their applicants Facebookpages.

However,

engaging

in

this

practice

should

still

beconducted with caution and within reason. Indeed, since alarge amount of the information on Facebook profiles is job-irrelevant, engaging in this practice could lead to issuesconcerning

the

validity

of

using

Facebook

as

a

tool

to

be

included

in

HR-related

decision-making

procedures.

Further-more, a court would see this practice as indefensible withrespect to being a job-related part of the selection process.Employers

are

also

urged

to

avoid

invading

or

bypassing

theprivacy settings of their applicants, as this procedure couldindeed lead to legal ramifications.

It is important to note that there may in fact be somebeneficial

information

about

applicants

that

can

be

obtainedfrom their SNWs. Therefore, if applicant Facebook pages areutilized as part of hiring procedures, employers are stronglyencouraged to examine these pages in an objective manner.In order to maximize the impact and return of utilizingFacebook as part of the hiring process, organizations are

+ Models


Please

cite

this

article

in

press

as:

R.S.

Chauhan,

et

al.,

Facebook

and

personnel

selection:Q1,

Organ

Dyn

(2013),




8/9

encouraged

to

examine

applicant

profiles

for

solely

job-relevant information. This job-relevant information maybe quite valuable. For example, an applicant may providehis or her previous work experience, personal interests, andfuture

goals

through

the

Facebook

profile.

However,

employ-ers should once again do their best to avoid allowing the non-job-related information to influence their perceptions of theapplicant. In addition to physical attractiveness, employers

should

attempt

to

disregard

any information

about

the

appli-cant in termsofpoliticalorientation, personal non-job-relatedinterests and hobbies, sexual orientation, age, race, andgender. Although this is easier said than done, consideringsolely

job-related

information

obtained

from

an

applicantsFacebook profile will protect the employer from legal ramifi-cations. Furthermore, employers should avoid being influ-enced by personal photographs unless the participant isclearly engaging in inappropriate behavior that would bedetrimental for the job for which they are applying. Forexample, if an applicant is appearing obviously intoxicatedinat least oneor severalof theirpublic photographs, thiscouldbe enough reasonable information to conclude that the appli-cant should be removed from job-consideration.

THE BOTTOM LINE ON SOCIAL NETWORKSAND HR

Regardless, employersare strongly urged toavoidbypassing anapplicants privacy settings (by any means) with the goal ofobtaining additional information about the applicant. As sta-ted

previously,

this

is

a

dangerously

controversial

area

withregard

to

the

validity

and

legality

of

the

practice.

Indeed,

inorder to maximize the impact and return of utilizing Facebookas part of selection procedures while simultaneously minimiz-ing risk, employers are encouraged to obtain information that

is

available

to

them

through

the

normal

channels

that

theapplicant either intended or did not restrict through privacysettings.

Overall,

Facebook

as

a

source

of

applicant

informationshould simply be a supplement to normal organizationalhiring procedures. Employers should still place primaryemphasis on and engage in their standard HR-related proce-dures

in

terms

of

recruitment

and

selection.

For

example,the information obtained from resumes and screening inter-views (such as phone interviews) should be valued more sothan the information that may be obtained from an appli-

cants

Facebook

page.

Both

of

these

sources

of

initial

infor-mation about applicants are commonly utilized and haveproven to be useful resources in terms of making hiringdecisions. Furthermore, considering the fact that resumescan

be

viewed

cost-effective

and

efficiently

online,

theyshould be the first item that employers should consider duringtheir hiring procedures. Facebook, however, has not beenproven to be a useful resource for HR-related decision-mak-ing beyond potentially providing predictions of applicantpersonalities. Indeed, although Facebook may in fact providesome valuable job-relevant information about an applicant,it may just as well (and even to a greater extent) providejob-irrelevant information about the applicant that mayunjustifiably and detrimentally affect perceptions of the

applicant.In conclusion, employers should remain cautious when

using Facebook as a tool for employment-related decision-making, as it provides minimal job-relevant informationand may not accurately portray the applicant of interestsactual performance at the job. Furthermore, due to thefact that there are no legal guidelines that allow for theuse of SNWs as part of employment decisions, employersare placing avoidable risk on themselves (as they may beaccused of illegal invasion of privacy) for potentially mini-mal gain.

+ Models


Please

cite

this

article

in

press

as:

R.S.

Chauhan,

et

al.,

Facebook

and

personnel

selection:Q1,

Organ

Dyn

(2013),




9/9

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Facebook is a dynamically evolving social networkingwebsite that has implemented many new features to itsusers and employers since its launch in 2004. The followingarticles explain Facebooks features and prevalence: Niel-son Wire, State of the Media: The Social Media Report,Nmincite. http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/social/,2011; D. M. Boyd and N. B. Ellison, Social Network Sites:Definition, History, and Scholarship, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 2007, 13, 210230; J. Cain,Online Social Networking Issues Within Academia andPharmacy Education, American Journal of PharmaceuticalEducation, 2008, 72, 17; and E. Swallow, 7 ReasonsWhy Recruiters Like Facebook More Than LinkedIn,

Mashable, http://mashable.com/2011/10/09/recruiters-prefer-facebook/,

2011.Several critical articles examine the benefits and detri-

ments to employers when utilizing Facebook as a tool fortheir HR-related procedures (and its effectiveness): C. Bran-denburg, The Newest Way to Screen Job Applicants: A SocialNetworkers

Nightmare, Federal Communications Law Jour-

nal, 2008, 60, 597626; V. R. Brown and E. D. Vaughn, TheWriting on the (Facebook) Wall: The Use of Social NetworkingSites in Hiring Decisions, Journal of Business Psychology,2011,

26,

219225,

doi:10.1007/s10869-011-9221-x;

L.

A.Clark and S. J. Roberts, Employers Use of Social NetworkingSites: A Socially Irresponsible Practice, Journal of Business

Ethics,

2010,

95,

507525;

and

B.

Elzweig

and

D.

K.

Peeples,

Using Social Networking Web Sites in Hiring and RetentionDecisions, SAM Advanced Management Journal, 2009, 74,2735.

A variety of implications were discussed with regard toboth employers and applicants in terms of Facebook use. Forexample see: E. Brown, Internet Law In the Courts, Jour-nal of Internet Law, 2011, 1, 3539; C. D. Davis, MySpaceIsnt Your Space: Expanding the Fair Credit Reporting Act toEnsure Accountability and Fairness in Employer Searches ofOnline Social Networking Services, KansasJournal of Law &Public Policy, 2007, 26, 237256; R. Haefner (2009) MoreEmployers Screening Candidates Via Social Networking Sites:Five Tips For Creating a Positive Online Image, http://

www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-1337-Interview-Tips-More-Employers-Screening-Candidates-via-Social-Network-ing-Sites/; E. M. Marsico, Social Networking Websites: AreMySpace and Facebook the Fingerprints?, Widener LawJournal, 2010, 19, 967976; L. Hockenson (2012), Howto Recruit with Facebook (infographic), Mashable,http://mashable.com/2012/02/05/facebook-recruiting-infographic/; K. A. Zimmerman (2011), 5 Ways Youll UseFacebook in 2012, BusinessNewsDaily, http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/1350-new-facebook-small-business-uses.html;

and

A.

Levin-Esptein

(2011),

Create

the

PerfectHire Me Facebook Page: 9 Simple Tips, CBSnews, http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-47541557/create-the-

perfect-hire-me-facebook-page-9-simple-tips/.

Rahul

S.

Chauhan

(M.A.,

University

of

Oklahoma)

is

a

doctoral

student

in

the

industrial/organizational

psychologyprogram

at

the

University

of

Oklahoma.

He

is

employed

by

the

Center

for

Applied

Social

Research

at

the

Universityof

Oklahoma.

His

research

interests

include

social

media

and

selection,

personality

and

performance,

andefficiency

in

the

workplace

(Tel.:

+1

405

325

2651;

e-mail:

[email protected]).

M.

Ronald

Buckley

(Ph.D.

in

Industrial

psychology,

Auburn

University)

is

the

J.C.

Penney

Company

Chair

ofBusiness

Leadership

in

the

Michael

F.

Price

College

of

Business

and

a

professor

of

psychology

at

the

University

ofOklahoma.

His

research

interests

include

decision-making

in

the

employment

interview,

performance

appraisal,organizational

entry

processes,

and

the

issues

surrounding

unethical

behavior

in

organizations.

He

has

publishednumerous

articles

in

both

practitioner

and

scholarly

journals

on

topics

related

to

human

resource

management(Tel.:

+1

405

325

2651;

e-mail:

[email protected]).

Michael

Harvey

is

Distinguished

Chair

of

Global

Business

in

the

School

of

Business

Administration

at

the

Universityof

Mississippi

and

has

a

joint

appointment

at

Bond

University

(Australia).

Mike

has

been

an

active

researcherand

consultant

for

global

organizations

over

the

last

30

years

(Tel.:

+61

662

915

5830;

e-mail:

[email protected]).

+ Models


Please

cite

this

article

in

press

as:

R.S.

Chauhan,

et

al.,

Facebook

and

personnel

selection:Q1,

Organ

Dyn

(2013),


http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/social/http://mashable.com/2011/10/09/recruiters-prefer-facebook/http://mashable.com/2011/10/09/recruiters-prefer-facebook/http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-1337-Interview-Tips-More-Employers-Screening-Candidates-via-Social-Networking-Sites/http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-1337-Interview-Tips-More-Employers-Screening-Candidates-via-Social-Networking-Sites/http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-1337-Interview-Tips-More-Employers-Screening-Candidates-via-Social-Networking-Sites/http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-1337-Interview-Tips-More-Employers-Screening-Candidates-via-Social-Networking-Sites/http://mashable.com/2012/02/05/facebook-recruiting-infographic/http://mashable.com/2012/02/05/facebook-recruiting-infographic/http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/1350-new-facebook-small-business-uses.htmlhttp://www.businessnewsdaily.com/1350-new-facebook-small-business-uses.htmlhttp://www.businessnewsdaily.com/1350-new-facebook-small-business-uses.htmlhttp://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-47541557/create-the-perfect-hire-me-facebook-page-9-simple-tips/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-47541557/create-the-perfect-hire-me-facebook-page-9-simple-tips/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-47541557/create-the-perfect-hire-me-facebook-page-9-simple-tips/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.03.006mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-47541557/create-the-perfect-hire-me-facebook-page-9-simple-tips/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-47541557/create-the-perfect-hire-me-facebook-page-9-simple-tips/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-47541557/create-the-perfect-hire-me-facebook-page-9-simple-tips/http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/1350-new-facebook-small-business-uses.htmlhttp://www.businessnewsdaily.com/1350-new-facebook-small-business-uses.htmlhttp://www.businessnewsdaily.com/1350-new-facebook-small-business-uses.htmlhttp://mashable.com/2012/02/05/facebook-recruiting-infographic/http://mashable.com/2012/02/05/facebook-recruiting-infographic/http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-1337-Interview-Tips-More-Employers-Screening-Candidates-via-Social-Networking-Sites/http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-1337-Interview-Tips-More-Employers-Screening-Candidates-via-Social-Networking-Sites/http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-1337-Interview-Tips-More-Employers-Screening-Candidates-via-Social-Networking-Sites/http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-1337-Interview-Tips-More-Employers-Screening-Candidates-via-Social-Networking-Sites/http://mashable.com/2011/10/09/recruiters-prefer-facebook/http://mashable.com/2011/10/09/recruiters-prefer-facebook/http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/social/

1. Chauhan, Buckley, & Harvey (2013) Facebook

Documents

Transcript of 1. Chauhan, Buckley, & Harvey (2013) Facebook