The Writing on the (Facebook) Wall: The Use of Social

Networking Sites in Hiring Decisions(Qualitative Article)

Victoria R. Brown

• E. Daly Vaughn

So far we have read a lot about the positive aspects of social networking websites. This article focuses on how social networking websites create a negative impact in the corporate sector and what are the consequences that rise from this action. The author has covered three important areas in the article. They are as following.

·         The author has tried to create an awareness of potential negative outcomes related to misuse of social networking websites by numerous companies in their hiring process.

·         The author has discussed validation and legal issues during the hiring process.

·         In the last author has discussed the practical implications for organizations and directions for future research associated with using social networking websites for their hiring process.

We will be discussing all three issues addressed above in the article. Based on the research done. The idea behind this article is to explain the readers how difficult it could be for a job seeker if head hunters and hiring companies evaluate the candidate resumes who are applying for different positions and getting rejected all the time based on a criteria which cannot be justified. According to recent reports in the popular media, an increasing number of hiring managers are utilizing social networking sites such as face book.

First we will talk about the negative outcomes related to the misuse of social networking websites. The data uploaded by the applicant on different social networking websites is highly unstandardized therefore the hiring decision based on this information is mostly incorrect. Also this lacks uniformity since some candidates share information on these social networking websites other do not make this information public.

Second is the validation and legal issue. Based on the research and relevant databases (PsycINFO, Business Source Primer) indicates that no research currently exists in peer-reviewed outlets investigating the practical and legal consequences for employers utilizing this practice or assessing the validity of this method. Instead, research has examined the social implications of site membership (e.g. identity formation; Gooding’s et al. 2007) and the factors influencing the type of content shared by users. Hiring managers should stop saving their cost and start relying on any standardized and reliable data rather than social networking websites.

Third is the practical implication. The author is stressing on the fact that it is not practically possible to rely on this data in the long run. Companies and hiring managers should start searching for reliable data that will help them finding the right fit for the position.

There are possible risks based on using the social networking websites. Risks such as invasion of applicant privacy, lack of clearly identifiable theoretical constructs used in the screening process, and the absence of data to support that the information used in screening is job relevant

Lastly there are also legal issues that could seriously hurt the company’s reputation. Social networking sites easily allow the potential for individual biases to affect hiring and screening decisions. Therefore it is always better to not to rely on the information provided by individuals on these websites in order to make the hiring decisions.

References:
http://libproxy.uhcl.edu:6047/article/10.1007%2Fs10869-011-9221-x