Social Media as a Personnel Selection and Hiring Resource: Reservations and Recommendations

Employers are often using Internet searches, social networking websites, and social media to examine detailed public information about job candidates, and sometimes private information about these job candidates as well. Such social media prescreening and human resource (HR) selection practices may have the potential to offer value-added information above and beyond that which is assessed using more traditional HR selection methods. However, details concerning the legality and the appropriateness or inappropriateness of these social media screening methods are only now emerging. Here we examine the legality, standardization, reliability, and job-relevance (i.e., validity) of job candidate data obtained via social media, along with reservations regarding this practice. We also provide recommendations for HR practitioners in using social media for selection purposes, should they choose to do so and hopefully with an awareness of the caveats that we provide. Suggestions for future research on social media HR selection practices are also discussed.