Screening Job Candidates With Social Media: A Manipulation of Disclosure Requests

In an attempt to find better employee organization fit, recruiters have turned to screening job candidates in part by reviewing their social media accounts. Job candidates may view these practices in a variety of ways, depending on the type of access requested and the individual characteristics of the job candidate. In this study, we measured changes in trust in the employer based on three increasingly intrusive disclosure requests and four individual characteristics. Findings from 162 participants suggest that a request for social media account logins reduces the trust in the employer, whereas collectivism, perceived privacy protection competence, and social media production increases trust in the employer. These findings have important implications for privacy research and for human resource screening practices.