Neuroscience
Organisations know that job candidates are presenting an idealised version of themselves in their CV and at interview. According to reports, many recruiters are therefore taking to social media to find an uncensored version of their applicants. Is this fair and what can they learn? A new study, led by William Stoughton and his colleagues at North Carolina State University, suggests that employers should beware jumping to conclusions based on what they find about applicants on Facebook.
Stoughton's team invited hundreds of undergrads to apply for a real temporary research assistant position. Of those who were also on Facebook and who agreed to a follow-up survey, this left 175 undergrads, average age 19, with 63 per cent female. The survey included measures of the Big Five personality traits (extraversion, conscientiousness etc) and questions about the students' activity on Facebook. In particular, they were asked how much they tended to engage in "bad mouthing" (e.g. how often have you criticised your employer or professors on Facebook?) and how much they posted updates about their drinking or drug use (e.g. how often during the past year have you posted photos of yourself drinking alcohol?)
Students who admitted to badmouthing on Facebook tended to score lower on agreeableness and conscientiousness. No real surprises there, although only low agreeableness retained a statistically significant association with badmouthing when the influence of all five personality traits were considered at once. More important, the amount of variance in badmouthing explained by personality traits was only 7 per cent, suggesting the associations between online behaviour and personality are modest.
Also revealing is that posting updates about drinking and drugs was only related to higher scores on extraversion but not with low scores on conscientiousness. This has potential real-life importance because employers have revealed they view online photos of applicants' boozing and drug taking as a red flag. Presumably they think such behaviours are a sign of low conscientiousness, but this study shows this isn't necessarily the case. Stoughton's team speculated that conscientious people may not see their Facebook profiles as part of their professional image and that's why they post "incriminating" photos. The lesson for recruiters is not to jump to conclusions based on candidates' Facebook activity (see also). For job applicants - be careful about what you post online!
The study has some serious limitations that are worth bearing in mind. Not only does the student sample limit the generalisability of the results, but remember the researchers didn't actually measure the students' real Facebook activity. So strictly speaking the study is actually about links between students' personality and their willingness (or desire) to admit to certain online behaviours.
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Stoughton JW, Thompson LF, and Meade AW (2013). Big Five Personality Traits Reflected in Job Applicants' Social Media Postings. Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking PMID: 23790360
--Further reading--
Hiring by online profile: perils and challenges for the networked recruiter.
These are the unwritten rules of Facebook.
Facebook or Twitter: What does your choice of social networking site say about you?
What your Facebook picture says about your cultural background?
Post written by Christian Jarrett (@psych_writer) for the BPS Research Digest.
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Neuroscience
What can employers learn from a job candidate's Facebook postings?
Stoughton's team invited hundreds of undergrads to apply for a real temporary research assistant position. Of those who were also on Facebook and who agreed to a follow-up survey, this left 175 undergrads, average age 19, with 63 per cent female. The survey included measures of the Big Five personality traits (extraversion, conscientiousness etc) and questions about the students' activity on Facebook. In particular, they were asked how much they tended to engage in "bad mouthing" (e.g. how often have you criticised your employer or professors on Facebook?) and how much they posted updates about their drinking or drug use (e.g. how often during the past year have you posted photos of yourself drinking alcohol?)
Students who admitted to badmouthing on Facebook tended to score lower on agreeableness and conscientiousness. No real surprises there, although only low agreeableness retained a statistically significant association with badmouthing when the influence of all five personality traits were considered at once. More important, the amount of variance in badmouthing explained by personality traits was only 7 per cent, suggesting the associations between online behaviour and personality are modest.
Also revealing is that posting updates about drinking and drugs was only related to higher scores on extraversion but not with low scores on conscientiousness. This has potential real-life importance because employers have revealed they view online photos of applicants' boozing and drug taking as a red flag. Presumably they think such behaviours are a sign of low conscientiousness, but this study shows this isn't necessarily the case. Stoughton's team speculated that conscientious people may not see their Facebook profiles as part of their professional image and that's why they post "incriminating" photos. The lesson for recruiters is not to jump to conclusions based on candidates' Facebook activity (see also). For job applicants - be careful about what you post online!
The study has some serious limitations that are worth bearing in mind. Not only does the student sample limit the generalisability of the results, but remember the researchers didn't actually measure the students' real Facebook activity. So strictly speaking the study is actually about links between students' personality and their willingness (or desire) to admit to certain online behaviours.
_________________________________
Stoughton JW, Thompson LF, and Meade AW (2013). Big Five Personality Traits Reflected in Job Applicants' Social Media Postings. Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking PMID: 23790360
--Further reading--
Hiring by online profile: perils and challenges for the networked recruiter.
These are the unwritten rules of Facebook.
Facebook or Twitter: What does your choice of social networking site say about you?
What your Facebook picture says about your cultural background?
Post written by Christian Jarrett (@psych_writer) for the BPS Research Digest.
- How Social Anxiety Manifests On Facebook
For many shy people, online social networking sites have an obvious appeal – a way to socialise without the unpredictable immediacy of a face-to-face encounter. However, a new study finds that people who are socially anxious betray their awkwardness...
- The Psychology Of Facebook, Digested
With over a billion users, Facebook is changing the social life of our species. Cultural commentators ponder the effects. Is it bringing us together or tearing us apart? Psychologists have responded too - Google Scholar lists more than 27,000 references...
- Student Narcissists Prefer Twitter; More Mature Narcissists Favour Facebook
Media headlines frequently link young people's widespread use of Facebook with the narcissism of their generation (e.g. "Facebook's 'dark side': study finds link to socially aggressive narcissism). A new investigation involving hundreds...
- Facebook & Theory Of Mind, Or Why I'm No Longer Updating Facebook
Facebook is a place where you can communicate with your friends, family members, co-workers, ex-flames, maybe even your boss if you choose to friend her. Theory of mind is our "...intuitive understanding of [our] own and other people's minds or mental...
- Web 2.0 For My Friends Or, A Facebook Frenzy!
In thinking back over 2008, one of the best things about the year was the proliferation of friends, buddies, and acquaintances I met. For the most part, this meeting took place online, through various social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and...