Facebook profiles can predict job performance -study

Facebook profiles are turning out to be a sound guide for employers wanting to see how a job applicant will perform at work, a new study shows.

 

This was the finding of the study from the Northern Illinois University, the University of Evansville and Auburn University, tech site Mashable said.

 

Researchers in the study had a group of four Facebook-savvy human resources professionals and students evaluate the Facebook profiles of 56 users.

 

After reviewing each of the profiles for about 10 minutes, the HR professionals graded them according to the so-called Big Five personality traits - openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.

 

"Six months later, the researchers compared the evaluations of the 56 users’ work supervisors and found a strong correlation for traits including intellectual curiosity, agreeability and conscientiousness," Mashable said.

 

Don Kluemper, one of the authors of the study, noted that contrary to popular belief, a picture of an applicant partying won’t necessarily hurt one's chances of getting hired.

 

“I don’t think a picture of someone holding a beer adversely affected them, but [a picture of you] being drunk in a ditch somewhere might be a negative,” he said.

 

Travel habits, number of friends

 

Mashable said the study showed pictures and references to traveling signaled openness to new experiences and adventurousness, while the number of friends one has indicates extroversion.

 

A second study also looked at evaluations drawn from Facebook profiles and academic success.

 

Kluemper says that report, which included a larger sample of 244, found the profiles were an accurate predictor of GPAs.

 

“We can predict academic success better than a standardized IQ test,” Kluemper said.

 

Not for screening

 

Yet, Kluemper said companies should not use Facebook to screen applicants, saying there has not been enough research yet to show a definitive connection between Facebook profiles and job performance.

 

“This offers a shred of validation, but there are thousands of studies that show personality tests predict performance. More studies [on Facebook as an indicator of job performance] need to be done,” Kluemper said. — TJD, GMA News