BACHELOR OF MANAGMENT WITH HONOURS

OUMH 1203

ENGLISH FOR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

MAY 2021

TOPIC:

THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN SCREENING CANDIDATES’

PROFILES DURING HIRING PROCESS

NAME: MOHD RADHI VOON

MATRIC NO: 961209125473001

NRIC: 961209125473

PHONE NO: 0143329612

EMAIL: RVOON@YAHOO.COM

TUTOR NAME: DR. TAN KIM HUA

LEARNING CENTRE :PP KELANA JAYA

SELANGOR
 CONTENTS

TOPIC PAGE

1. TASK 1

INTRODUCTION

BODY

CONCLUSION………………………………………………………….1-3

2. TASK 2……………………………………………………………………4-9

3. REFERENCES……………………………………………………………10
TASK 1

OUTLINE

INTRODUCTION

- Thesis titled “Use of Social Networking Sites for Recruiting and Selecting in The
Hiring Process” (Villeda, McCamey, Essien, Amadi, & Anani, 2019) and “ The use
of Social Media in The Recruitment Process” (Sharaburyak, Moreira, Reis, Silva, &
Oliveira, 2020).
- Research conduct by (Sharaburyak, Moreira, Reis, Silva, & Oliveira, 2020), titled
“The use of Social Media in The Recruitment Process” where they asked 212 people
to answer a survey and majority are students and workers from Portugal where they
asked if they are aware and agree that companies are using social media to evaluate
the applicants’ competencies. Most of them are not aware that companies are using
social media to gather information about them and 76% of them do not agree that it is
a good tool to evaluate the applicants’ competencies and social traits
- Research on “ The Use of Social Networking Sites for Recruiting and Selecting in
The Hiring Process” done by (Villeda, McCamey, Essien, Amadi, & Anani, 2019)
also mention the Pros’ and Cons’ of using social networking sites for recruiting and
selecting applicants and they also conclude that company should not solely rely on
such platforms
- It is no doubt that the use of social media in screening candidates’ profile have the
advantages but it also has several risks that may cause the employer to face some
problem if it is not done correctly

BODY

1. Risks in the use of social media in screening applicants’ profiles during hiring
process.
A) Missing and Inaccurate information.
a) Some people are not even active in social media. The information that they put
on their social media might not be the up to date or the latest information
about them.
i) A research survey that conduct by (Sharaburyak, Moreira, Reis, Silva,
& Oliveira, 2020), shows 57.5% of their respondents do not use or
update their social media frequently and they realized that company

1
 might possibly getting the outdated information that may not be
accurate and do not reflect the applicants really are.
B) Employer decision making could be unconsciously biased by what they see.
a) Employer might unconsciously biased on making a decision to recruit the
applicant that they think interesting just because they saw something on the
applicant’s social media.
i) An article released by (Roepe, 2017) titled “How Your Appearance
Impacts Hiring Decision” shows a surveyed conduct by them and
resulting that the hiring manager most likely to hire people of their
own race. Which shows a biased behaviour.
ii) Some applicants might share their interest on social media, come from
a respected family background, they also show they are from the
certain religion and they are proud of it but some applicants do not
show much of themselves on social media. So, employer might
unconsciously biased in their decision making just because the other
applicants have the same interest as the recruiter.
C) Affect employer in a legal matter if they are not cautious.
a) Screening applicant’s social media may lead to TMI (Too Much Information)
and candidates might making a discrimination claims if they were not
accepted.
b) If they feel they are not fairly judge, the candidates might claim that employer
discriminates something against them after looking at their social media.
i) Article released by (Maurer, 2018) featuring Les Rosen, founder and
CEO of Employment Screening Resources, a background screening
firm in Novato, Calif said “Screening social media can lead to
allegations of discrimination under Title VII [of the Civil Rights Act of
1964] and numerous state laws if the candidate does not get the job”.
D) It could raise equal employment opportunity concern.
a) Not everyone active on social media. Some candidate may not have an active
social media presence.
i) A research survey that conduct by (Sharaburyak, Moreira, Reis, Silva,
& Oliveira, 2020), shows 57.5% of their respondents do not use or
update their social media frequently.
E) Social media does not conclude a person’s personality and attitude.

2
 a) Some people only shows a side that they want a public to see and this does not
mean whatever that they share on their social media is what are they really are.
i) 31.1% believe their Facebook profile does not give evidence to who
they really are (Sharaburyak, Moreira, Reis, Silva, & Oliveira, 2020).

2. Alternative for the employer to screen job candidates

CONCLUSION

- In conclusions, the use of social media in screening candidates’ profile during hiring
process has become increasingly use by employer.
- It also has several risks that may cause the employer to face legal issue if it is not
done correctly.
- The better alternatives for employers is too gain permission from the applicants to
avoid any legal issue and to hire a third-party or professional that can help the
employer to make a hiring decisions.
- Even if social media becoming a selection tool for hiring process, employer should
consider the risk of using it

3
TASK 2

INTRODUCTION

The use of social media in our daily life is increasing day by day. 86% population in
Malaysia are using social media (Statista, 2021). Social media is a platform that serve many
use and even companies nowadays use social media as a platform as one of their hiring
process. Nowadays, people who apply for a job usually will put their personal social media
in their resume. Usually, company also use social media as a platform to search for a suitable
candidates for the position that they offer. They also go to social media to screen applicants’
profiles during hiring process to gather more information about the applicants’ personality
and attitude. Research conduct by (Sharaburyak, Moreira, Reis, Silva, & Oliveira, 2020),
titled “The use of Social Media in The Recruitment Process” where they asked 212 people to
answer a survey and majority are students and workers from Portugal where they asked if
they are aware and agree that companies are using social media to evaluate the applicants’
competencies. Most of them are not aware that companies are using social media to gather
information about them and 76% of them do not agree that it is a good tool to evaluate the
applicants’ competencies and social traits. Research on “ The Use of Social Networking Sites
for Recruiting and Selecting in The Hiring Process” done by (Villeda, McCamey, Essien,
Amadi, & Anani, 2019) also mention the Pros’ and Cons’ of using social networking sites for
recruiting and selecting applicants and they also conclude that company should not solely
rely on such platforms. It is no doubt that the use of social media in screening candidates’
profile have the advantages but it also has several risks that may cause the employer to face
some problem if it is not done correctly

The first one is using social networks may lead to missing and inaccurate information.
Some people are not even active in social media, so the information that they put on their
social media might not be the up to date or the latest information about them. It can be
assumed that everyone at least has one social media but not all of them update their social
media frequently. A research survey that conduct by (Sharaburyak, Moreira, Reis, Silva, &
Oliveira, 2020), shows 57.5% of their respondents do not use or update their social media
frequently and they realized that company might possibly getting the outdated information
that may not be accurate and do not reflect the applicants really are. This can be an example
of the use of social media may lead to inaccurate information. Other than that, another

4
example of social media may lead to an inaccurate information is as we know some people
just use social media for fun. Some just share their information randomly, for example
information about their education, address, pictures, race and more. Some may update that
they have achievement on something on social media but there is no valid proof that can
show the information about that. So, companies should not solely rely on social media to gain
data of the applicants just because they share something on their social media. Not only that,
there is also a situation where applicants share their thoughts or wrote something 2 years ago
and never once update anything after that on their social media. In this situation, companies
should not consider the information that the applicants shared years ago is what they are like
right now. People can change the days, weeks, months or even years after. For example, a
writer that published their work online 2 years ago that did not show much of their writing
skills, but it does not mean he or she is like that right now. In the 2 years after that, they may
already enhance their writing skills and become more professional. Hiring company should
take another approach to verify the information that they gain from social media, may be
from the applicant itself, but before to do so, companies should get permission from the
applicant himself to permit them to check their social media for hiring process purpose. If
not, it may lead to another problem.

Other than that, doing screening on applicants’ social media may make employer decision
making could be unconsciously biased from what they see. Employer might unconsciously
biased on making a decision to recruit the applicant that they think interesting just because
they saw something on the applicant’s social media. For example, some applicants may share
their interest on social media like sharing a picture where they came from a respected family
background, they also show they are from the certain religion and they are proud of it and
they share their interest sports or their pet on the internet but some applicants do not show
much information of themselves on social media. So, employer might unconsciously
comparing them and making a biased decision to hire the applicant that share the same
interest as the recruiter. An article released by (Roepe, 2017) titled “How Your Appearance
Impacts Hiring Decision” shows a surveyed conduct by them and that the hiring manager
most likely to hire people of their own race. Which shows a biased behaviour toward their
own race. Another example is when hire manager cannot help but to compare the applicants
profile based on their social media status. For example, there is applicant who actively enjoys
sharing his interest on social media, living his life young and free and the other applicant is a
woman who just announce she is pregnant on her social media and hiring manager might

5
unconsciously making a biased decision comparing them if they hire the woman and thinking
she will go on maternity leave within a year if they hire her and decided to hire the other
applicants just because of this factor. So, social media may not be a great tool to screen
applicants during the hiring process. Recruiter should not make a bias decision just because
they see something on the applicants’ social media.

Besides that, if the companies decided to do a screening on the applicants’ social media, it
might affect employers in a legal matter if they are not cautious. There should be no law
violated when they used social media for the purpose of recruiting and selecting employees
during their hiring process (Villeda, McCamey, Essien, Amadi, & Anani, 2019). Screening
applicant’s social media may lead to TMI (Too Much Information) and applicants might
making a discrimination claims if they were not accepted. For example, if they feel they are
not fairly judge, the candidates might claim that employer discriminates something against
them after looking at their social media. Applicants might misunderstood that the reason that
they were not accepted was because the recruiter might not like something about them after
looking at their social media. For example maybe they thought the recruiters do not like her
skin colour, race or her social status. Article released by (Maurer, 2018) featuring Les Rosen,
a founder and CEO of Employment Screening Resources, a background screening firm in
Novato, Calif said “Screening social media can lead to allegations of discrimination under
Title VII [of the Civil Rights Act of 1964] and numerous state laws if the candidate does not
get the job”. Other than that, the majority of the respondents from the research done by
(Sharaburyak, Moreira, Reis, Silva, & Oliveira, 2020) shows that respondent disagree and
consider it unethical and invasion of their privacy. Companies could involve in legal issue as
candidates could make a complaint against them. So, companies that used social media for
the purpose of recruiting employees, they should informed and get permission from the
applicants first that they might have to go through their social media to gain more data about
the applicant and they should be aware of it. As the recruiter, companies should fairly judge
or give them a reason if they are not accepted so the legal problem should not be arise.

Furthermore, using social media to screen applicants also could raise equal employment
opportunity concern. By equal employment opportunity concern is meaning to say that the
applicants feel that they are not equally evaluate. Not everyone is active on social media.
Some applicant may not have a social media presence. If employer evaluate applicants from
their social media it might not be fair for the applicants that do not active on their social
media. A research survey that conduct by (Sharaburyak, Moreira, Reis, Silva, & Oliveira,

6
2020), shows 57.5% of their respondents do not use or update their social media frequently.
So, for participants that do not have a social media presence may find it they are not fairly
and equally judge by the employers. For example, applicant that actively share their activities
on various social media and applicant who hardly active and share their activities on their
social media, or even an applicant who does not even have social media, it may affect their
chance to get hire by the company if the company use social media in screening applicants’
profiles during the hiring process compare to the participant that is active on their social
media. If company wants to screen applicants’ social media, they can hire a professional who
can check the applicants’ data on the other websites, instead of just screening the applicants’
profiles through their personal social media like their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and
Linkedin only.

Moreover, using social media to screen applicants’ profile also can cause the company to
misinterpret a person’s personality as social media does not really interpret a person’s
personality. Some people just use social media for example Facebook to share memes that
they like, share things that they want other to see, share happy things but in fact they are sad
in real life. People can wear a mask on social media, it does not mean the person who always
shares funny memes on social media is a clown in real life and does not have a serious
attitude toward their work. It does not mean a person who always show a nice thing on social
media is a nice person in real life. Some people only shows a side that they want a public to
see and this does not mean whatever that they share on their social media is what are they
really are. Research done by (Sharaburyak, Moreira, Reis, Silva, & Oliveira, 2020) shows a
survey of 212 respondents respond 31.1% believe their Facebook profile does not give
evidence to who they really are. For example, an applicant that like to share things he or she
likes for example an animation and memes on their personal social media and he hiring
company evaluate him based on his attitude on social media and conclude that the applicant
does not have a serious attitude and may not be a good worker because the participant does
not show his matured side on his social media, but in real life the applicant actually a very
hard working person, gain many academic achievements and even a good person. This is why
company should not only rely on the applicant’s personal social media because social media
does not solely interpret a person’s real attitude in real life. The best idea to screen a person is
by contacting a reliable informant that can give the company a reliable data about the
applicants.

7
 The risk that the employer might face if they use social network in screening applicants’
profile during hiring process can affect the company. There are some alternative that might
help employer to screen job candidates. The first alternative for the employer to screen job
candidates is perform a social media check with the applicant’s consent but only after you
have made a job offer. Employer can tell the applicant that it is necessary to fulfil the
requirement during the hiring process but employer should only focused on the objectives
that they need to do that for a screening and hiring process and only gather a job related data
that they need. Employer should create a clear and formal procedure. Employer should aware
after the screening process, some applicant might not be satisfied with the result and think the
recruiters discriminate something about them after they saw the applicant’s profile, so
company should Establish a standard screening practices to show that the decisions are made
based on the job description, and documenting when a person meets the objective criteria and
why the other failed and cannot moved forward. This way, employer can avoid any legal
issue that may arise due to the misunderstanding on the applicant’s side.

Other alternative is to a hire a professional who expertise in the hiring field that can do a
screening job on applicants’ and help employer make a hiring decision. Third-party like this
can provide employer with the job-related data and will not go beyond that, Doing this
alternatives, employer can save time and will not make any biased decision upon seeing
applicant’s social media. The advantage of employer to hire a professional to do the
screening process on the applicants’ profile also, the expertise can use any other websites to
gather data of the applicants that do not active in their social media. This way not only that
employer can gather the data that they need for the hiring process, they also will not gather
unwanted information and avoid a situation that can lead to the too much information (TMI)
situation.

Employer also can get back to the traditional way of screening process instead of using
social network. Employer can give applicants some questions in the employment application
that may require applicant to reveal more data about themselves. It may be a traditional way,
but it is more effective and safe than using social media for hiring purpose. This type of way
can help employer identify more about the person’s personality attitude and skills by just
contribute questions in the employment application that can test their skills in answering
questions.

8
 In conclusions, the use of social media in screening candidates’ profile during hiring
process has become increasingly use by employer. No doubt that the use of social media in
screening candidates’ profile also have the advantages but it also has several risks that may
cause the employer to face legal issue if it is not done correctly. It also can cause employer to
make a bias decision unconsciously if they only focus on the applicant’s social media profile
without considering the other source of data that may contain a better information about the
applicants. It is not just that, it may not content an accurate and valid data about the
applicants. The better alternatives for employers is too gain permission from the applicants to
avoid any legal issue and to hire a third-party or professional that can help the employer to
make a hiring decisions. Employer should have a formal and clear step in screening
applicants’ profile to be safe. Even if social media becoming a selection tool for hiring
process, employer should consider the risk of using it.

9
 REFERENCES

Maurer, R. (2018, April 23). Screening Candidate's Social Media May Lead to TMI,
Discrimination Claims. SHRM. Retrieved from
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/screening-
social-media-discrimination-claims.aspx

Roepe, L. R. (2017). How Your Appearance Impacts Hiring Decision. Forbes. Retrieved
from https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisaroepe/2017/11/01/how-your-appearance-
impacts-hiring-decisions/?sh=2b1934dc153d

Sharaburyak, V., Moreira, G., Reis, M., Silva, P., & Oliveira, M. A.-Y. (2020). The Use of
Social Media in The Recruitment Process. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341449645_The_Use_of_Social_Media_in_
the_Recruitment_Process

Statista. (2021). Active Social Media Users as A Parcentage of The Total Population in
Malaysia from 2016 to 2021. Joschka Muller. Retrieved from
https://www.statista.com/statistics/883712/malaysia-social-media-penetration/

Villeda, M., McCamey, R., Essien, E. E., Amadi, C., & Anani, R. B. (2019). Use of Social
Networking Sites for Recruiting and Selecting in The Hiring Process. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331022707_Use_of_Social_Networking_Sit
es_for_Recruiting_and_Selecting_in_the_Hiring_Process

10