College students and job recruiters have different opinions on what constitutes an appropriate Facebook post, according to a recent study.
Persona, Inc., a Seattle-based social media utility focused on protecting users’ professional reputations in social media, conducted a survey sampling 500 college juniors and seniors.
The study indicated 57 percent of college students do not think they have inappropriate material on their Facebook pages. However, according to a previous CNN poll, 69 percent of employers have rejected applicants based on their social media activity.
John Wolfe, a senior in criminology, is among that 57 percent.
“I know I don’t have any inappropriate pictures, but I do know some kids who are on the borderline,” Wolfe said.
According to Persona Founder and CEO Lee Sherman, those on that “borderline” need to be proactive in preserving their professional reputation.
In a press release last month, Sherman offered advice to college students preparing to enter the job market, saying that “Facebook never forgets,” and asking students to check their past social media histories.
“[Students] must be aware that recruiters will … go back in time to earlier posts. No one, not even the most careful candidate, wants recruiters to see photos or posts of them from their teenage years. Monitor content now, and go back in time to delete content from the early days,” Sherman said according to the Persona website.
However, Sherman also advised students to take advantage of the opportunity social media provides in the employment process.
“Employers hire people they like and want to spend time with,” Sherman said. “[Job-seekers] should use Facebook to get an advantage before the interview” and to “showcase personal experiences”.
Some students, like Christian Solorzano (as well as 58 percent of those surveyed), choose to keep their Facebook set to “private” as their only line of defense against the threat of recruiters finding reputation-harming material online.
“Honestly, if [recruiters] are so upset by my activities, maybe we wouldn’t work too well together anyway,” said Solorzano, a junior in business administration. “Maybe that helps align like-thinkers to companies they are most compatible with. I hope my coworkers for the next 40 years have fun the same way I do.”
But while Persona’s website says 86 percent of all recruiters look at social profiles when reviewing applicants, an N.C. State study, “Big Five Personality Traits Reflected in Job Applicants’ Social Media Postings,” shows that despite the high tendency for recruiters to assess applicants through Facebook, this medium actually may not be the best indicator of a good worker.
The study, published this summer, was authored by Will Stoughton, Ph.D. student at N.C. State, and co-authored by N.C. State psychology Professor Lori Foster Thompson and associate professor Adam Meade.
The main focus of the research was the employers’ side of the applicant screening processes.
By testing recruiters on the traits of ideal employees, the study took an x-ray of the perfect candidate. Then, the recruiters were allowed to analyze applicants’ Facebook profiles, and the two were compared.
The researchers found that certain Facebook behaviors do not necessarily indicate a poor employee, and vice-versa. Many extraverts were seen around alcohol simply because of their nature. Some extremely conscientious people were seen in suggestive situations, but many recruiters failed to adequately assign the correct traits to applicants for the jobs they were trying to fill.
“The kid who has the occasional beer pong picture could be a harder worker than the straight edge kid. It’s impossible to tell. Being social is never a bad thing,” Wolfe said.
