Facebook photos affect job applications
Are you looking for a new job? Have you sent your application off knowing that you have put your best foot forward and are now awaiting your reply? While you wait, have you paused to consider whether you really want that picture of a dung beetle as your Facebook profile image because according to new research your prospective employers may well be checking out your Facebook page as part of their vetting process.
The researchers think that employers might regard a Facebook profile picture as a more honest signal of a person than a picture on a CV, or even the information on a CV.
In the new study the researchers applied for 2112 advertised jobs. They sent fictitious letters of application and ensured that the names of the candidates led via search engine or Facebook to just one Facebook profile. The CVs in the applications differed in layout and design but were as close to identical as possible in terms of skills and job relevance. What differed between the two applications was the profile picture on their Facebook page.
The researchers used photos that had been previously rated for their attractiveness and perceived personality (especially those that suggested reliability).
The results of the job applications showed that applicants with the most favourable Facebook profile picture received 21 per cent more positive responses to their application and had a 40 per cent greater chance of being invited immediately to a job interview. The researchers also found that highly educated people are more likely to be screened via Facebook than less educated people.
These figures aligned with a second study where the photographs were actually attached to the applications, which is significant because not all employers use Facebook. So the employers that do use Facebook as part of the screening must respond to it quite strongly. The researchers think that employers might regard a Facebook profile picture as a more honest signal of a person than a picture on a CV, or even the information on a CV.
Maybe you might want to rethink that profile pic of you riding a unicycle and sucking a toffee apple that you have been using?
