1. Social Media and Employment Screening
Group Tulips
Talia Borodowski
Arianna Gerber
Akimi Jones
Carolynn Nutter-Rainey
Tiffany Sylvestre

2. Survey Topic
As employers are adopting the practice of using social media as an interview screening tool, this raises questions about invasion of privacy vs. determining a prospective employee’s ability to be a good fit for an organization.
We are interested in finding out how you feel about social media being used as an interview screening tool. Please answer the questions below:

3. Achieving Sample Size
Each surveyor sought ten (10) participants; five (5) to respond to each of the two surveys;
Surveys were ed, polled in-person, personally delivered;
54 people were asked to complete the two surveys; 50 responded (25 completed open-ended surveys; 25 completed closed surveys);
Time to complete closed-ended surveys ranged from 1 – 3 minutes.
Time to complete open-ended surveys ranged from 3 – 7 minutes

4. Survey Questions – Open-ended
How do you feel about social media being used as an interview screening tool?
Which social media platforms do you feel should be utilized as interview screening tools?
Why or why not?
What would be your reaction if the first question during an interview was about your social media activity?
How would you feel about your prospective employer using social media to screen you for an employment opportunity?

5. How do you feel about social media being used as an interview screening tool?
Total Respondents: 25 %
Unopposed 16
64%
Opposed 9
36%
Responses varied, with the majority of respondents being unopposed to social media being used as an employment screening tool.
Those unopposed suggested that social media is a reasonable interview screening tool for vetting candidates. Some acknowledged that this is common practice in many organizations (ex: “…an individual’s social media account can provide valuable information that may not be disclosed through other screening tools.”)
Those opposed cited invasion of privacy, the need for separation between one’s work and private lives, and the fact that individuals should not be judged by their social media personas as primary reasons (ex: “…the employer may be biased and use social media activity as a way of eliminating the candidate.”)

6. Social Media as a Screening Tool *
Which social media platforms do you feel should be utilized as an interview screening tool?
More than half of respondents selected Linked-in as the primary social media site that should be used as an interview screening tool, with Facebook being a close second.
Social Media as a Screening Tool *
Total Respondents: 25
Linked-In
Facebook
Twitter
All
Industry Related Only
None
Instagram
* Ranked in order of respondent selections

7. Why or why not?
The majority of respondents indicated that Linked-in is an appropriate social media application to be utilized as an interview screening tool, as Linked-in provides for a professional view of a prospective candidate, whereas Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter offer a more personal view, which might be misconstrued by a prospective employer. (ex: “Linked-in is geared toward the professional aspects of one’s life.”)

8. How would you feel about your prospective employer using social media to screen you for an employment opportunity?
Responses varied, with the majority of respondents expressing indifference.
Those who expressed indifference indicated that they effectively manage their digital footprint, being careful about how they represent themselves on social media;
Those who indicated that they would be shocked and/or concerned cited violation of their privacy and social media overshadowing their credentials as the primary reasons;
Others raised concerns about how they would be judged as a potential candidate, as well the possible legal implications.
Total Respondents: 25 %
Indifference 13
52%
Shock / Concern 9
36%
Other 3
12%

9. Survey Questions – Closed-ended
On a scale of 1 – 5 (1 being the least comfortable; 5 being the most comfortable), how do you feel about social media being used as an interview screening tool?
Do you feel that the use of social media as an interview screening tool is intrusive?
On a scale of 1 – 5 (1 being the least likely; 5 being the most likely), how likely would you be to use social media if you knew your prospective employer was using it as an interview screening tool?
On a scale of 1 – 5 (1 being the least fair; 5 being very fair), how fair a practice do you feel it is for employers to use social media as an interview screening tool?
On a scale of 1 – 5 (1 being the least comfortable; 5 being the most comfortable), how comfortable would you be with using social media as a tool for screening prospective employees?

10. On a scale of 1 – 5 (1 being the least comfortable and 5 being the most comfortable), how do you feel about social media being used as an interview screening tool? 5 3 2

11. Do you feel that the use of social media as an interview screening tool is intrusive?11

12. On a scale of 1 – 5 (1 being the least likely; 5 being the most likely), how likely would you be to use social media if you knew your prospective employer was using it as an interview screening tool? 8 6

13. On a scale of 1 – 5 (1 being the least fair; 5 being very fair), how fair a practice do you feel it is for employers to use social media as an interview screening tool?   5 2

14. On a scale of 1 – 5 (1 being the least comfortable; 5 being the most comfortable), how comfortable would you be with using social media as a tool for screening prospective employees? 4 3 1

15. Common Themes
More than half of respondents were indifferent to their prospective employer using social media as an interview screening tool;
Those who expressed indifference indicated that they effectively manage their digital footprint, being careful about how they represent themselves on social media;
Those who indicated that they would be shocked and/or concerned cited violation of their privacy, and the desire to have a separation between their work and private lives;
The majority of respondents indicated that Linked-in is an appropriate social media application to be utilized as an interview screening tool, as Linked-in provides for a professional view of a prospective candidate.

16. Challenges in Analyzing
Responses to open-ended questions varied;
Responses to closed-ended questions prompted respondents to ask for further information;
Some respondents expected more open-ended questions;
Surveyors needed to provide additional explanation for the “why/why not” question (#3 of open-ended questions).
Some respondents did not initially consider Linked-in as a social media application;
There was a variance in which applications individuals considered social media.

17. Similarities/Differences
Both the opened-ended and closed-ended surveys revealed mixed feelings among respondents;
The majority of respondents in both the closed-ended and open-ended surveys were unopposed to using social media as an interview screening tool.
Differences:
It was easier to gauge respondents feelings towards the topic with the open-ended questions;
There was a slight variance in responses to open-ended vs. closed-ended questions about the use of social media as an interview screening tool.

18. Lessons Learned
Surveyors must be conscious of semantics when developing survey questions, as the words selected can either narrow or expand the topic for the participants (i.e., “interview” vs. “employment);
As surveyors, it is important to present an unbiased view to respondents, so as not to sway their responses;
There are times when it is appropriate to exclude a neutral option;
Surveyors must be careful to establish selection criteria for the target group in advance of distributing surveys;
The surveyors’ expectations relative to responses were not necessarily the outcome of the survey.