Discrimination Employment Exchanges Due to Social Networking

Discrimination Employment Exchanges Due to Social Networking

A company typically utilize social media and Internet search engines to find out more about the people who apply for a job . This habit has become part of the recruitment process . But now a study suggests that such a practice opens the door to discrimination .

Carnegie Mellon University has launched a study to create a resume and social media profiles for a number of fictional candidates . The team of researchers found between 10 % up to a third of U.S. companies ( U.S. ) looking for information about job applicants on social networking at the beginning of the recruitment process . Candidates who in his Facebook profile a Muslim writes that they are rarely called upon to interview more applicants than Christian. This difference is more noticeable in areas that most U.S. citizens , including conservative . In these areas , Christians are called interview applicants by 17 % of companies , compared to Muslims only about 2 % .

It's become the latest example of how digital footprint about someone having a more profound effect than expected , especially in the labor market .

" A lot of information about ourselves that we go in cyberspace , sometimes in ways we do not realize , " said Alessandro acquisti , professor of information technology and public policy at Carnegie Mellon and one of the initiators of the study . According to the researchers , although not directly open the sensitive information or install any embarrassing photos on the Internet , companies can be affected by other information .


Paul Sakuma / Associated Press
Discrimination in the hiring process can take place consciously or unconsciously . This means the company can be influenced without knowing it , said Christina Fong , a senior researcher at Carnegie Mellon who also worked on this experiment . Even before the era of social networking , various studies have shown the company to discriminate based on sketchy information , such as whether the application name is the name commonly used African Americans .

More than a third of U.S. companies admitted to view the social networks in the hiring process , at least for most candidates , according to a separate survey . However, only 7 % of respondents who said always see social networking . The results of this survey , which reaches nearly 1,000 employees personnel , released this year by EmployeeScreenIQ , companies that offer background checks candidates .

" It is human instinct to find out . We want to fill the information gap , "said Rusty Rueff , a longtime personnel executive directors but is now a member of Glassdoor Inc. , the company 's career .

Most companies are using social networking to find out about the unprofessional behavior of job seekers who do , like complain about previous bosses or conversations about drugs . Many consultants advise job seekers to not share the details of such problematic to social media .

However, as shown in the Carnegie Mellon survey , social media profiles can also be a source of further fundamental discrimination . The study focused on categories such as religion and sexual preference . Laws in some places in the U.S. prohibit companies using either category as a consideration in hiring someone . " Companies generally avoid asking about the issue in an interview , but the technology is now easier for them to know that information , " said acquisti . ( WSJ )