Publication Date

Fall 2013

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Psychology

Advisor

Howard Tokunaga

Keywords

Job Applicants, Social Networking Sites

Subject Areas

Psychology; Business

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether job applicants manipulated their Facebook pages for employment purposes and the specific characteristics on their pages that were purposely altered to attract potential employers. A total of 50 interviewees participated in the study. Results indicated that job applicants did manipulate their Facebook pages for employment purposes for various reasons with the most common reason being to avoid misperceptions by potential employers. Another goal of this study was to examine job applicant beliefs on employer and job applicant use of Facebook for employment purposes. The study results indicated that job applicants supported as well as opposed employers' use of Facebook to make employment decisions. Conversely, the majority of the job applicants who were interviewed were in support of job applicants manipulating Facebook pages for employment purposes because they were trying to present the best image to potential employers. Given the findings of the study, organizations need to be aware that the information they find on Facebook might not be accurate representations of job applicants and they should not rely on Facebook to determine whether job applicants are qualified to perform a job.

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