What social media tells you about job applicants

It’s no secret that most employers check out candidates’ social media profiles before hiring them. Recent research shows that social media activity can reflect the following five personality traits:

Extraversion; agreeableness; conscientiousness; emotional stability; openness to experience

The study looked at how likely each personality type was likely to engage in several common Facebook activities.

Here are the key findings:

Extraverts – More likely to post about drugs and alcohol Nobody wants to hire somebody who brags about substance abuse. Could this be detrimental if the role requires an outgoing personality…think of your sales team.

Agreeableness – Unlikely to badmouth others in posts Agreeable people are less likely to berate others in posts because they view it as being unfriendly. Conscientiousness – Unlikely to badmouth others in posts – Unlikely to post about drugs and alcohol

Conscientious people are less likely to partake in this activity because they know their social media activity could be screened. Emotional stability and Openness to experience – Research was inconclusive.

Some people who have these traits badmouth others and post about substance abuse. I hope you found this useful.