Using social media content for screening in recruitment and selection: pros and cons

Jeske, Debora; Shultz, Kenneth S

Abstract

The article considers the arguments that have been made in defence of social media screening as well as issues that arise and may effectively erode the reliability and utility of such data for employers. First, the authors consider existing legal frameworks and guidelines that exist in the UK and the USA, as well as the subsequent ethical concerns that arise when employers access and use social networking content for employment purposes. Second, several arguments in favour of the use of social networking content are made, each of which is considered from several angles, including concerns about impression management, bias and discrimination, data protection and security. Ultimately, the current state of knowledge does not provide a definite answer as to whether information from social networks is helpful in recruitment and selection.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 31, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Nov 20, 2015
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Oct 2, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 20, 2015
• Journal: Work, Employment and Society
• Print ISSN: 0950-0170
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-8722
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 535-546
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017015613746
• Keywords: applicant selection; employer screening; ethics; privacy; social media
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/9147
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0950017015613746
• Contract Date: Oct 2, 2015