Screening Job Candidates With Social Media: A Manipulation of Disclosure Requests

AbstractWith the proliferation of social media, job candidate screening and evaluation professionals have new avenues to gather information regarding job candidates. Job candidates recognize that recruiters will examine their social media, and tailor their profiles to foster a positive impression. However, recent popular press news suggests that some employers are taking social media screening to more invasive levels. This study seeks to evaluate how job candidates respond to social media screening from recruiters. Using a scenario-based experiment with 290 subjects, the authors tested relationships between candidate characteristics and trust in the recruiter as well as hesitancy to accept an offer. This research found that under all conditions, trust reduces hesitancy to accept the offer and that age reduces trust in the company. Further, this article found differences in the relationships between privacy protection competence, social media production and trusting stance on trust in the company based on the level of social media screening.