CYBERPSYCHOLOGY, BEHAVIOR, AND SOCIAL NETWORKING

Volume 13, Number 3, 2010

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
DOI: 10.1089=cyber.2009.0193

The Influence of Social Networking Web Sites

on the Evaluation of Job Candidates

Daniel Bohnert, B.S. and William H. Ross, Ph.D.

Abstract

This study investigated how the content of social networking Web site (SNW) pages influenced others evalu-
ation of job candidates. Students (N 148) evaluated the suitability of hypothetical candidates for an entry-level
managerial job. A 2
4 design was employed: resumes were either marginally qualified or well qualified for the
job. SNW printouts reflected (a) an emphasis on drinking alcohol, (b) a family orientation, or (c) a professional
orientation; participants in a control group received no Web page information. In addition to a main effect for
resume quality, applicants with either a family-oriented or a professional-oriented SNW were seen as more
suitable for the job and more conscientious than applicants with alcohol-oriented SNW pages. They were more
likely to be interviewed. If hired, they were also likely to be offered significantly higher starting salaries. Results
are discussed in terms of implications for both managers and applicants.

Introduction H1: A job applicant with a well-qualified resume will receive

more favorable ratings (i.e., is seen as more qualified and
conscientious; is more likely to be interviewed and re-

S ocial networking Web sites (SNW) such as MySpace

and Facebook are designed for people to locate friends
and to interact with others online to discuss hobbies and
commended to be hired; will be hired at a higher salary) than
an applicant with a marginally qualified resume.

similar social interests; many people create Web pages on Some scientific research on SNWs has been conducted in
these popular Web sites.1 However, employers are increas- the field of marketing (e.g., the word-of-mouth endorse-
ingly using these Web sites to screen job candidates. Cope- ment of products on SNWs8), social psychology (e.g., the ef-
land2 reports that approximately 12% of employers use social fects of SNWs on other relationships9), and clinical
networking Web sites for this purpose; Kennedy3 puts the psychology (e.g., the role that SNWs play in Internet addic-
figure higher, at 38%. tion10). However, controlled, scientific research on the role
Such information is often used in combination with SNWs play in employment decisions is conspicuous by its
other, more traditional information, such as an applicants absence, and the present study seeks to help fill that void. To
cover letter and resume. Research suggests that recruiters date, the published literature has been characterized by
use resume information such as type of degree, college writers opinions and some polling data. For example, some
grades, extracurricular activities, and work experience to writers advise job candidates not to post information to the
make inferences about an applicants motivation, consci- Internet that they do not wish employers to see.11 This sug-
entiousness, abilities, and interpersonal skills4factors that gestion seems reasonable: one third of employers have de-
are often relevant to job successand that they use this clined to offer at least one job candidate a position on the basis
information when deciding whom to interview and hire.5 of finding unflattering material in an Internet search.12 Re-
Research also suggests that recruiters are able to make search in other contexts also indicates that some recruiters
reasonably valid personality inferences based solely on make distinctions in job suitability between job candidates
written materials submitted with a job candidates appli- whom they perceive to be high and low in the personality
cation, such as a resume.6 Generally, recruiters give more trait of conscientiousness.13 Even college students who have
favorable evaluations to candidates with a greater quantity been briefly trained in personality assessment and who role-
of accomplishments (e.g., more years of work experience) play recruiters can accurately discern personality traits (in-
and greater quality of accomplishments (e.g., a higher cluding conscientiousness) of other students based solely on
grade point average in college).7 It seems reasonable to their SNW information.14 Therefore, if applicants post un-
expect similar findings here. professional (e.g., alcohol-oriented) information to their own

Department of Management, University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, Wisconsin.

341
342 BOHNERT AND ROSS

Web sites, it seems plausible that recruiters will think of these people may not give much weight to SNW information be-
applicants as not being conscientious. These issues are im- cause they see such information as unethical, violating job
portant: one survey reports that approximately 41% of job candidates privacy.12 A study by Manpower found that 56%
candidates admit to having posted information to SNWs of social network users consider it unethical for employers to
about their own excessive drinking or drug use.2 Thus, the investigate them using SNWs.27 Some may believe that such
present study augments polling data and logical arguments information is unreliable (e.g., misleading information may
by scientifically investigating such variables in an employ- have been posted by an applicants rivals, ex-spouses, or
ment context. enemies) or even illegal (violating equal employment op-
Evidence from the recruiting and interviewing literature15 portunity laws or SNW policy). By contrast, others feel that to
suggests applicant qualifications explain most of the variance discount such information is a failure to exercise due dili-
in recruiter evaluations of applicants. However, nonverbal gence when selecting employees.28 Those who give great
cues16 and photographs17 (where factors such as applicant weight to SNWs will probably be affected by its specific
clothing18 vary, influencing the perceived attractiveness of content; this is predicted to lead to extreme ratings for can-
the applicant19) can also account for a significant amount of didates with very positive and very negative content on their
variance. It seems reasonable to anticipate similar effects for SNW. By contrast, those who give greater weight to the
applicant photographs found on social networking Web resume will be less affected by the SNW content:
pages: candidates appearing in photographs of themselves in
a drunken stupor are likely to be evaluated unfavorably. H4: Study participants who indicate SNW information has the
Research based on Weiners20 attribution theory shows that most influence on their ratings will give extreme ratings (i.e.,
lower ratings to the applicant with the alcohol-oriented Web
individuals who are seen as causing their own problems site and higher ratings to the applicants with professional-
[e.g., drunkenness; obesity] are viewed as less desirable em- oriented and family-oriented Web sites) compared to those
ployees.21(p391) Evaluators sometimes make such causal at- participants who indicate that the resume has the most influ-
tributions from job applicant photographs.22 By contrast, ence on their ratings.
SNWs that have professional-oriented or family-oriented
photographs may show that the candidate is serious about his
or her career and=or is well-rounded. When such infor- Methods
mation is consistent with the written information found on Participants
the Web site, it is predicted to have significant effects on rater
judgments about the candidate. This logic suggests the fol- Undergraduate students (N 148) served as participants,
lowing hypothesis: with 145 providing usable data, as verified by manipulation
checks. Cell sizes ranged from 15 to 20 per cell. Of the par-
H2: A job applicant with either a family-oriented or a ticipants, 60% were male and 40% were female; 7% were
professional-oriented SNW will receive more favorable sophomores, 57% were juniors, and 36% were seniors. The
ratings than an applicant with an alcohol-oriented SNW. average age was 21.5 years (SD 2.29 years). Thirty-one
percent were management majors, 48% were other business
Demographic differences may also be relevant: some majors, 10% were public administration majors, and 11%
writers believe that for young applicants in their 20s, un- were other nonbusiness majors. Twenty-five percent had held
professional Web sites are simply a phase of life that most jobs where they had helped make hiring decisions.
recruiters will ignoreparticularly younger recruiters, who Prior to completing the actual study, participants completed
may have their own Web sites.23 Therefore, the present study a lengthy questionnaire asking about their experience with
uses a sample of young adults. Further, research suggests various selection methods (e.g., group interviews, drug test-
that, consistent with a similar-to-me bias,24 attitude simi- ing) and technology issues (e.g., Web logs) as well as person-
larity between interviewer and applicant is sometimes a sig- ality variables, some of which were unrelated to the present
nificant predictor of hiring decisions.25 Attitudes are often study. The questionnaire was lengthy in order to prevent
inferred from behaviors. Thus, for raters whose own SNWs priming and to disguise the true purposes: (a) to mea-
highlight drinking, applicant behaviors regarding the posting sure participants conscientiousness via the Neuroticism-
of SNW information about alcohol consumption may suggest Extraversion-Openness (NEO) scale29 and (b) to see whether
attitude similarity and may influence those raters selection they participated in SNWs. Approximately 92% had their own
decisions: SNW. While only 20% indicated that they had discussed work-
related matters on their SNW, 51% said they had posted in-
H3: Study participants who have posted information about
themselves drinking alcohol or using drugs will give signifi-
formation about their family, and 56% said they had posted
cantly more positive ratings to the applicant with the alcohol- information about their own abuse of drugs or alcohol.
oriented SNW compared to study participants who have not
posted such information.
Procedure, stimuli, and experimental design
Individuals vary in how they weigh different factors. For After completing the questionnaire, participants were
example, a sample of 14 employers suggested great vari- presented with the experimental stimuli. The experimenter
ability in how much Web site pictures of a recent college explained that they were to assume the role of a hiring
graduate drinking alcohol would affect their decision to hire manager and evaluate a white male job applicant, in his 20s,
that graduate.26 It seems reasonable to expect that some in- who had applied for the position. Participants were given a
dividuals will give greater weight to resume information and job description for a health and beauty aids manager at a
others will give greater weight to SNW information. Some department store. The experimenter next gave each partici-
SOCIAL NETWORKING WEB SITES 343

Table 1. Descriptive Statistics and Correlations for Continuous Variables

Variable M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1. How likely would you be to interview this applicant? 6.60 2.39

2. How well qualified is this applicant for the position in question? 6.48 2.14 78
3. How likely would you be to offer the job to this applicant? 5.90 2.41 83 86
4. What starting salary should be offered? $34,290 $2,840 62 66 68
5. Average NEO Conscientiousness rating given for the applicant 6.59 1.62 77 76 80 58 (98)
6. Years of college 3.39 0.77 06 01 11 04 10
7. Age (years) 21.57 2.29 01 05 03 07 04 52
8. Average NEO Conscientiousness score for participant 7.22 0.75 14 16 17 09 33 07 01 (88)

Notes: Decimals omitted. Scale coefficient alpha (internal consistency reliability) values along the diagonal where appropriate. Correlations
larger in absolute value than 0.169 are significant ( p < 0.05) and 0.22 ( p < 0.01). Scale values used are average item values using 9-point rating
scales. ns 141145.

pant a cover letter, a resume, and a printout of a simulated $36,000 with a standard deviation of $2,000. Given this infor-
SNW. Participants evaluated the applicant using a second mation, assuming the position is offered to this applicant, what
questionnaire. starting salary should this applicant be offered? Participants
The experiment was a 2
4 between-participants full- also rated their applicant using the NEO Conscientiousness
factorial design. As independent variables (IVs), applicant scale. Ratings were correlated (see Table 1); yet, because they
resumes were either marginally qualified or well qualified for were conceptually distinct, ratings were treated as sepa-
the job, confirmed by pretesting the resumes with a separate rate dependent variables. Finally, participants were asked
human resource management class, M 3.5 vs. 7.0 on a which factorthe cover letter (which was constant across all
9-point rating scale of the applicants qualifications, N 32; conditions), the resume, or the social network Web page
F(1,30) 26.7; p < 0.001; Z2 47.1%. SNW printouts reflected informationmost influenced their ratings.
one of the following: (a) an emphasis on drinking alcohol, (b)
a family orientation, or (c) a professional orientation; partic-
Results
ipants in a control group received no Web page information.
The SNW pages included a color laser-jet printout, which Multivariate analysis of variance
included a photo of the applicant (the same actor was used
A general linear model, multivariate analysis of variance
in each condition) with appropriate captions. The family-
(MANOVA) revealed significant main effects for resume,
oriented photo showed the applicant at the Green Bay
Wilkss l 0.539; multivariate F(5, 131) 22.45, p < 0.001;
Packers football game, the professional-oriented photo
Z2 46.1%, and SNW, Wilkss l 0.588; multivariate F(15,
showed the applicant in a suit at an annual company banquet,
362.04) 5.11, p < 0.001; Z2 16.2%. The interaction was not
and the alcohol-oriented photo showed the applicant in an
significant.a Follow-up univariate analyses are reported in
orange vest and hardhat with a beer in each hand with the
Table 2.
caption, Caution: Men drinking. The SNW pages also in-
cluded statements by the applicant that reflected the appro-
priate orientation and comments by friends that reflected the Hypothesis tests
same orientation. (Experimental materials are available from
As can be seen from Table 2, when the applicant was well
the authors upon request.) The goal was to create experi-
qualified, as suggested by his resume, participants reported
mental stimuli that were plausible, generally comparable,
that they were more likely to interview the applicant and
and created an overall effect consistent with the intended
would be more likely to offer him the job. They reported that
manipulation; we did not attempt to create stimuli that were
they would hire the applicant at an average starting salary
comparable in each specific point.
that was approximately $2,500 higher than when the appli-
cant was poorly qualified for the position. These findings
Dependent variables
support H1.
Participants rated their applicant on the following rating Ratings for applicants with either the family-oriented or
scales: How well qualified is this applicant for the position in professional-oriented SNW were significantly higher than
question? (1, not qualified at all, 9, very well qualified); How those of the control group. By contrast, ratings for the ap-
likely would you be to interview this applicant for the position plicant with the alcohol-oriented SNW were the lowest of the
in question? (1, not likely at all, 9, very likely), and How likely four groups. Raters judged this last type of applicant as least
do you think you would be to offer the job to this applicant? conscientious, least qualified, least likely to be interviewed,
(1, not likely at all, 9, very likely). Participants were also pre- and least likely to be offered the job. Participants reported
sented with a frequency graph showing a normal distribution that the applicant with an alcohol-oriented Web site, if hired,
with the x-axis labeled pay (thousands of dollars per year). would be offered a salary that was approximately $2,400 less
Accompanying the graph was the following: The salary for than the applicant with a family-oriented Web sitea sig-
this position ranges from $30,000 to $42,000. The pay distri- nificant difference ( p < 0.05). These findings support H2.
bution across all managers is normally distributed, as shown in H3 predicted that study participants who had posted in-
the graph. The average pay for newly hired managers is formation about themselves drinking alcohol or using drugs
344 BOHNERT AND ROSS

Table 2. Effects for Resume and Social Networking Web Site on Dependent Variables

Group means (SD) F(df ) Z2

Variable
Main effects for resume Marginally qualified Well qualified F(1,135)

1. How likely would you be 5.33 (2.35) 7.84 (1.71) 62.505** 31.6%
to interview this applicant?
2. How well qualified is this 5.08 (2.04) 7.83 (1.17) 105.44** 43.9%
applicant for the position
in question?
3. How likely would you be 4.49 (2.26) 7.32 (1.59) 95.41** 41.4%
to offer the job to
this applicant?
4. What starting salary should $33,098 ($2,534) $35,528 ($2,627) 34.81** 20.5%
be offered?
5. Average NEO Conscientiousness 5.76 (1.61) 7.40 (1.15) 72.04** 34.8%
rating given for the applicant
Alcohol Family Professional Control
Main effects for SNW oriented oriented oriented group F(3,135)

1. How likely would you be 5.22a (2.50) 7.48b (1.86) 6.94b (2.53) 6.67b (2.11) 9.46** 17.4%
to interview this applicant?
2. How well qualified is this 5.78a (2.01) 6.95b (1.87) 6.81b (2.37) 6.26ab (2.23) 4.17* 8.5%
applicant for the position
in question?
3. How likely would you be 4.64a (2.21) 6.79c (1.90) 6.49c (2.47) 5.61b (2.51) 11.33** 20.1%
to offer the job to
this applicant?
4. What starting salary should $33,105a ($2,395) $35,512b ($2,391) $34,371ab ($3,350) $34,177ab ($2,703) 5.89* 11.6%
be offered?
5. Average NEO Conscientiousness 5.30a (1.62) 7.25c (1.03) 7.15c (1.57) 6.57b (1.43) 21.78** 32.6%
rating given for the applicant

Note: Means with different superscripts in the same row are significantly different ( p < 0.05) using Student-Newman-Kuels post hoc
comparisons.
*p < 0.01; **p < 0.001.

would give significantly more positive ratings to the appli- asked how likely they were to interview the applicant,
cant with the alcohol-oriented SNW than would participants they gave very low ratings to the candidate with the alcohol-
who had not posted such information. The results were in the oriented Web site and high ratings to the candidates with
predicted direction, but the hypothesis was not supported. Of family-oriented and professional-oriented SNWs: M 3.40
the 36 participants in the alcohol-oriented condition, 14 had vs. 7.77 and 7.54 respectively. Those who thought the resume
not posted information about abusing drugs or alcohol and was most important did not show quite as much variability
22 had. Those who had not posted such information were when rating these applicants: M 6.50 vs. 7.46 and 6.20;
somewhat less likely to interview the applicant, but the dif- interaction F(2, 112) 10.915; p < 0.001; Z2 16.3%. Similar
ference was not significant (M 4.50 vs. 5.68; F(1, 34) 1.95; interactions emerged for the other dependent variables, as
p 0.17, ns). Similar results emerged for the other dependent shown in Table 3. Thus, H4 was supported.
variables. Thus, H3 was not supported; even participants
who admitted to posting alcohol- or drug-oriented informa-
Discussion
tion about themselves tended to see a job applicant with an
alcohol-oriented Web site as undesirable. The results support almost all of the hypotheses. While an
H4 predicted that participants who indicated that SNW applicants resume influenced the raters evaluation of the
information had the most influence on their ratings (n 35) applicant (H1), SNW also influenced evaluations (H2). SNW
would give extreme ratings compared to those who indicated influence is suggested in the popular press, but this study
that the resume had the most influence on their ratings provides scientific evidence to support what has, until now,
(n 91). A MANOVA that added as a third IV What factor only been suggested anecdotally. That age was uncorrelated
was more important? (resume vs. SNW; those selecting with ratings of the applicant suggests that an unprofessional
cover letter were excluded from this analysis) showed that Web site featuring a heavy emphasis on alcohol has a nega-
this was the case. There was a significant interaction with tive impact on raters in their early 20s as well as on older
type of SNW (Wilkss l 0.715; multivariate F(10, 216) 3.94, evaluators. This was true regardless of whether the raters had
p < 0.001; Z2 15.4%). posted information about themselves drinking alcohol or
As hypothesized, those who said that the SNW was the abusing drugs on their own Web sites (failing to support H3).
most important factor gave more extreme ratings. When Apparently, they thought it was acceptable to post such
SOCIAL NETWORKING WEB SITES 345

Table 3. Interaction Effects for Resume and Social Networking Web Site with Which Factor
Most Influenced your Ratings? on Dependent Variables

Group means (SD) Interaction

Most
important Alcohol Family Professional
Variable factor oriented oriented oriented F(2,112) Z2

1. How likely would you be Resume 6.50 (2.06) 7.46 (2.17) 6.20 (2.78) 10.915** 16.3%
to interview this applicant? SNW 3.40 (1.95) 7.77 (1.09) 7.54 (2.38)
2. How well qualified is this applicant Resume 6.55 (1.89) 6.85 (2.18) 6.15 (2.72) 5.297* 8.6%
for the position in question? SNW 4.73 (1.87) 7.56 (0.88) 7.27 (1.95)
3. How likely would you be to offer Resume 5.85 (1.95) 6.73 (2.27) 5.65 (2.77) 14.39** 20.4%
the job to this applicant? SNW 2.93 (1.33) 7.00 (0.86) 7.27 (1.90)
4. What starting salary should Resume $33,690 ($2,313) $35,711 ($2,341) $33,475 ($3,330) 3.97* 6.6%
be offered? SNW $32,266 ($2,404) $36,111 ($2,088) $35,818 ($3,060)
5. Average NEO Conscientiousness Resume 6.25 (1.24) 7.27 (1.21) 6.79 (1.86) 12.227** 24.45%
rating given for the applicant SNW 3.99 (1.15) 7.22 (0.58) 7.67 (1.09)

Note: Those indicating that the cover letter was the most influential factor were excluded from this analysis because the cover letter was
held constant across conditions. The control group was not included in this analysis because participants in the control group were given only
the resume and cover letter to consider. Thus, they had no SNW information and were not asked this question. For resume conditions,
ns 2026; for SNW conditions, ns 915.
*p < 0.05; **p < 0.001.

information themselves, but they viewed it negatively when findings underestimate the findings from a sample of older,
another did so. Those who reported that the SNW informa- professional managers, who may be even less sympathetic to
tion was the most important factor influencing their evalua- the posting of alcohol-related bravado on the Internet. Fourth,
tions gave the lowest evaluations to the applicant with the no one was given an employment interview in this study;
alcohol-oriented Web site and gave high evaluations to ap- only paper qualifications were evaluated. Still, the findings
plicants with family-oriented and professional-oriented give a sense of how managers might evaluate candidates in
SNWs (H4). Those who reported that the resume was the preliminary screening. Finally, the failure to support H3 may
most important factor showed significantly less variability in have been due to measurement issues. Participants were
their ratings across the SNW conditions, although they still simply asked whether they had posted alcohol-related in-
showed the same basic pattern. The present studys findings formation on their own SNWs. Future research might inquire
are interesting in light of previous research finding that 20% as to how much this was emphasized on their Web sites. A
of college students had SNW information (primarily alcohol- Web site featuring a dinner party with a bottle of wine might
related) that they did not want employers to see, but they be very different from a Web site where the main focus is on
also, perhaps navely, felt that employers would be unlikely alcohol and drunkenness.
to weigh such information very heavily.30 Future research might also consider other forms of un-
These findings suggest that SNWs are a double-edged professional conduct. Numerous research questions remain
sword. Compared to a control group, an unprofessional Web unexplored: Do evaluators view applicants more severely if
site can significantly hurt a candidates chances of being hired they speak ill of their current employers or talk about
and can even result in a lower salary offer (approximately goofing off at work (relative to drinking alcohol on their
$1,000 lower in the present study). By contrast, a professional- own time)? What if the applicant had a professional-oriented
oriented or family-oriented SNW can enhance a candidates SNW but the comments that the applicants friends made
attractiveness relative to a control group. Also, comparing the were unprofessional?31 Would the applicant be guilty by
alcohol-oriented and family-oriented conditions, raters indi- association and rejected for the position? Does the number of
cated that they would offer the candidate with the alcohol- friends an applicant counts have a curvilinear relationship
oriented SNW starting salaries that were about 7% less than for employment decisions as it does for other contexts, where
those with the family-oriented SNW. Whether this difference neither too few nor too many friends are optimal?32 Would all
is due to perceived need for a larger salary (for the family), of these effects differ for minority or female applicants? Can
general attractiveness of the family-oriented applicant, or an managers be trained to discount or ignore some irrelevant
unwillingness to give more money to an applicant who may information found on SNWs?
simply waste it on alcohol cannot be determined from this In summary, while an applicants qualifications remain a
study. strong factor in deciding whether to interview or hire an
There are several limitations to this study. First, this was a applicant, SNWs also influence how the person is evaluated.
scenario study: no one actually hired anyone; these findings For job candidates, the message is clear: information disclo-
need to be replicated with field research. Second, to provide sure and control must be carefully managed on SNWs.33 An
maximum experimental control, only one applicant was unprofessional Web site can be costly in terms of both op-
evaluated. Third, the participants were college students tak- portunity and salary. By contrast, a professional- or family-
ing upper-level business courses rather than professional oriented SNW may enhance employability. For managers, the
managers. Thus, these findings may generalize best to young, study suggests that they be aware of the potential influence of
less experienced managers. If anything, it is likely that these SNWs. Such an awareness may prevent them from giving
346 BOHNERT AND ROSS

undue influence to information that may be irrelevant to job 5. Brown BK, Campion MA. Biodata phenomenology: recruit-
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No competing financial interests exist.
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