Social media in employee selection and recruitment: An overview

Abstract

Although social media are increasingly used in the employee selection and recruitment process, six significant challenges remain. First, reliability and validity is unknown. Second, even if reliable and valid, social media data may not be practical. Third, even if practical, the use of such information may not be legal. Fourth, even if legal, their use may not be ethical. Fifth, even if ethical, it is unclear how to optimally include them in existing systems. Sixth, even if optimal strategies are developed, they may be rendered obsolete at a pace too quick for academic researchers to match, at least as academic research in this domain is currently published and disseminated. This does not frame such research as useless but rather highlights the need for a faster and more comprehensive approach to studying it.