Structuring social media assessments in employee selection

Social media assessments (SMAs) are a common, relatively new, practice in employee selection. However, SMAs are generally conducted in an informal way, leaving organizations with a practice low in reliability and validity, as well as opening up potential legal and ethical issues. We propose a framework of nine SMA structural components based on previously developed interview structural components. Effects of each component on reliability, validity, user reactions, and legality are discussed. We conduct two studies that measure the utilization of each structural component in research literature and in practice. Study 1 is a content analysis of prior SMA academic research. Results indicate the highest use for the procedural consistency and rating scales used and the lowest utilization of documentation. Study 2 surveyed hiring professionals to examine the structure level typically utilized for SMAs in practice. Results indicate low levels of structure for most components, which demonstrates a need for structural improvement when SMAs are used in hiring. We discuss the implications of our research and provide recommendations for structuring SMAs in both research and practice.