Perceived Fairness Of The Use Of Facebook In The Selection Process

Abstract

Although research has examined applicant attitudes in the selection process regarding the use of a variety of assessments tools, no scholarly or empirical studies to date have examined attitudes towards the use of Facebook in the selection process. Nonetheless, organizations are using Facebook in the selection process and are asking applicants for Facebook usernames and passwords resulting in applicants withdrawing from the application process (Valdes & McFarland, 2012). This demonstrates why it is essential for research to examine applicant perceptions in regards to Facebook use in the selection process. The current study consisted of 422 participants of whom 92% indicated they had a Facebook profile. The major hypotheses examined how fair participants think it is for organizations to use Facebook in the selection process as well as what potential actions they may take as a result. Participants were presented with one of eight case studies illustrating the process that an applicant went through, whether the applicant gave permission for the organization to examine their Facebook profile, whether the organization examined the applicant's Facebook profile, and if the applicant received a job offer. The use of Facebook in the selection process was viewed negatively, especially when permission was not adhered to and no job offer was presented, resulting in participants being more likely to take negative actions such as filing a lawsuit against the organization. Along with a description of some exploratory results, a discussion of the findings, limitations of the study, and implications for the future are presented.