CASE STUDY 1:
The Usage Of Social Media Networks As A Tool By Employers To Screen Job Candidates
As employers seek to gain more insight into a potential hire’s personality, the traditional resume has become mostly a formality and less of a useful tool. Jaspreet Kaur, Sheila Arianayagam, and Parmjit Sigh published their study entitled, “The Usage of Social Media Networks As A Tool By Employers To Screen Job Candidates” in The European Journal of Social & Behavioural Science. The purpose of the research is spelled out in the title. It is in fact a study conducted to examine social media as a screening tool for potential employees in the hiring process. A common theme among hiring agents is that “recruiting a candidate based on their resume and a 10-15 minutes interview does not paint a complete picture of the candidate’s suitability for the job” (Carpentier et al., 2016). “Specifically, this study examines firstly, the usage of SNS as a possible tool by employers to screen job candidates during the recruitment process and secondly, the awareness of potential job candidates/employees on its impact” (Kaur, Arianayagam and Singh, 2020).
Our modern society has more than embraced social media networks in almost every facet of our lives. Our jobs, social groups, families, activities, political affiliations, and anything to which we can add a hashtag are willingly shared with the entire world. The ease at which we pull back the curtain and allow the entire global population to peer into our lives has never been matched by previous generations. For any willing to search, there are few secrets as to who we are beyond what the average social engagement would normally allow. Never before has so much investigative power been given to a potential employer or employee in regard to understanding the true personality on the other side of a resume or interview for that matter. Researching the personality of a potential candidate on social media is a clear indicator that employers are not getting enough information on the candidates of choice, or they don’t trust the information presented as accurate. Brown and Vaughn claim that “according to peers of the target job applicants, social media is quite an accurate indicator of a person’s characteristics” (Brown and Vaughn, 2011).
While less than half of the employers interviewed claimed personality as contributing factor in hiring a candidate, an overwhelming majority claimed they would reject a candidate based on negative social media behavior. “The data shows 41.9% (n=18) of the employers hired candidates based on ‘Gave a positive impression of their personality and organizational fit” while, “The common posts which cause employers to reject candidates based on their SNS profiles were ‘Lied about qualifications’ (97.7%); ‘Posted content about them using drugs’; (90.7%) and ‘Posted negative comments about a previous employer (83.7%)”. (Kaur, et al., 2020) On either side of the issue, the character of an employee is important and employers cannot get this information from a traditional resume. Another study by Sameen and Cornelius (2013) stated that “33% of respondents stated that the positive impression of personality and organization fit is the most prominent factor that an employer would consider when hiring candidates through SNS (social network sites)” (Sameen and Cornelius, 2013). The data would suggest that employers are open to using alternative methods to understand the personality behind the resume and that it is important in the selection process of a new employee. Alternately from the employee’s perspective, the “Findings show that while the majority (89.2%) of candidates are aware that employers do screen prospective job candidates based on their SNS profiles, yet a staggering two-thirds (70%) said they posted information on their SNS profiles that they would not want employers to see. They argued that whatever they posted on SNS was private and for the purview of their circle of friends only and that it is unethical for employers to judge them based on these. (Kaur, et al, 2020) While the ethics of social media research with respect to potential employees is up for debate, the need to understand who the applicant is beyond their list of skill sets would seem to be paramount for employers. The personal brand that individuals are building based on social media posts is not too dissimilar from a spattering of bumper stickers one might encounter at a stop light. As seen in Fig. 2, in a matter of seconds the viewer can gather important personality traits about the driver based on what they choose to proclaim from their adhesive-backed proclamations. This mood board of selected affiliations could provide some insight into how to augment the traditional resume.
CASE STUDY 2:
User Research Case Study: Designing the Resume of the Future
The case study “User Research Case Study: Designing the Resume of the Future”, was conducted by Stevan Himal, Karina Papalezova, Soninke Combrinck, Yiwen Yan, and Hiram Aragon. The study seeks to understand how an individual could better represent who they are to a potential employer through a more modern approach to the traditional resume. The study also builds a case for a fresh approach to what it means to “have a job, to find a job, and to hire someone” (Himal et al., 2018). There is a significant amount of attention given to the concept of applicant representation and how this concept is defined in our modern society with a specific focus on personality.
The study breaks down a job applicant’s identity as perceived by the employer into three categories. These categories include: Who we are, what we say and how we say it, and how we are perceived. It is through this framework that a potential employer will evaluate an individual personality and ultimately make their judgment on the applicant’s viability for the position. The categories are further defined below.
Understanding these mechanisms of candidate assessment as building blocks of the traditional resume should aid in the reframing of a more modern approach. The study also defines the two principal methods of screening candidates as Manual and Algorithm based artificial intelligence. The study expresses concerns over the immense task of screening thousands of resumes manually and the problem of algorithms, “not being helpful to understand prospective employees’ personality as well as soft skills”. (Himal et al., 2018) Both of these scenarios are a reoccurring concern and challenge in the job market. There is little to no room for understanding the personality of the candidate outside of personal interaction. Perhaps the most fascinating element of this case study is the generation of “empathy maps” created from data gathered through interviews. The maps represent what an individual feels, hears, sees, says, and does in regard to the job search. The maps were created using the examples of a tech employee, a business employee, a creative employee, and an employer. As demonstrated in Fig. 1-4 each map expresses the unique emotions, challenges, and insecurities felt by the selected professions. This specific information is not easily discerned from the traditional resume but is paramount in understanding the humanity involved in the hiring process. As noted in Fig. 4 the employer that relies upon algorithms to sort thousands of resumes is overwhelmed and realizes that “People struggle to say what is really special about them”, and “CVs don’t show everything about the candidate”. (Himal et al., 2018) The case study concludes that the ultimate goal is to create a more holistic approach to the resume. In order to achieve this task, the study presents several important questions that must be answered.
How might one foster the sharing of truthful information between candidates and employers?
How might one make the process more personal?
How might we aid the filtering process to not reduce candidates to keywords?
Case Study 3
Incorporating Personality Traits in Hiring: A Case Study of Central Texas Cities
This study presents a case for the importance of an individual’s personality to the employer and more specifically the nuances of personality traits. Though understanding that the candidate’s personality is important to both the employer and employee and furthermore understanding what personality traits are important one can ascertain that the traditional resume is lacking in providing an accurate assessment of a candidate’s personality. According to David Caldwell and Jerry Burger, “When a hiring process results in limited exposure to the applicant, openness to experience, conscientiousness, and agreeableness are difficult to observe” (Caldwell and Burger 1998, 121). These characteristics are often traditionally meant to be observed during an interview process. However, if the resume could give the hiring agent a glimpse into the personality of the potential hire perhaps narrowing down the interviewees could be an advantageous modernization.
The first characteristic is Conscientiousness. The research shows that this is the most desired characteristic of employers. A conscious employee could be simply described as one who takes great care in performing their duties. They can be counted on to be well-organized and dependable with a planned effort to minimize errors. They essentially treat the business as they would their own and make everyone’s job around them easier. The second is Emotional Stability which is more of an effort to avoid problematic situations. If an employee experiences anxiousness, depression, insecurity, or is overly emotional they are generally not going to fit into the company culture. On the contrary, an emotionally stable individual would tend to handle stress better and work well in a team environment. The third trait is Agreeableness. “Qualities associated with agreeableness include “being courteous, flexible, trusting, good-natured, cooperative, forgiving, soft-hearted and tolerant” (Barrick and Mount 1991, 4). These are the characteristics that mark a great teammate and company advocate. The fourth characteristic is Extraversion. This trait is well suited for client-facing individuals such as sales or management. They tend to be very active and energetic often possessing a strong sense of confidence. The final trait is Openness to Experience. “The qualities most often associated with this trait are “being imaginative, cultured, curious, original, broad-minded, intelligent, and artistically sensitive” (Barrick and Mount 1991, 5). These people are often easily trained and adaptable to change. They tend to be a go-with-the-flow type of individual. The second portion of the case study was to survey what personality traits are being evaluated during the hiring process. Britain states the following as a summary of findings.
“The intent of this research was to assess if the five-factor model is incorporated into hiring potential employees. The results indicate a majority of cities that responded (68.4%) do not test personality traits in the hiring process. Of the cities that responded “yes” to assessing personality, only the characteristics associated with conscientiousness were completely evaluated. Emotional stability is not evaluated, and only one of the associated characteristics—insecurities—was tested by four of six cities. Half of the characteristics associated with openness to experience are assessed, while half are not. Agreeableness and extraversion characteristics are assessed a majority of the time” (Britain 2007, 36).
Generally speaking, even during the interview process the five factors are not consciously being assessed in a consistent manner. This is not to say that these assessments are not being made through other forms of discernment. Human interaction can project so many different social cues along with conscious and unconscious personality assessments. While this can occur during the interview process there is no mechanism for personality to be projected through a traditional resume. The study suggests that personality is very important to find not just a qualified employee but also the best personality for the hiring company.