Northern Illinois University: Study finds Facebook profiles can predict career performance

On February 21, 2012, the latest research from Northern Illinois University, the University of Evansville and Auburn University found that scholars can use Facebook information to predict a person's performance in the workplace.

In the experiment, three evaluators (a university professor and two students) investigated the Facebook profiles of 56 college students and their work. The evaluators read the user profiles including photos, posts, comments, education and hobbies for 10 minutes, and then answered a series of personality-related questions, such as "Is this person reliable?" and "Is he emotionally stable?".

Six months later, the researchers compared the results of the experiment with the employee evaluations of the students by their supervisors. They found that the students' work performance was very consistent with the assessments in their Facebook profiles, such as sense of responsibility and curiosity.

The raters rated students who were more well-traveled, had more friends and had more hobbies higher. Don Kluemper, a management professor at Northern Illinois University and lead researcher, said the party photos were not necessarily a disadvantage for the students; on the contrary, the raters perceived them as more outgoing and friendly.

Crump said the survey found that Facebook can be used as a reliable job screening tool, especially since it is difficult for job seekers to "fabricate" their personalities in front of their friends. However, the prospect of using social networking sites to screen job applicants is not clear because employers may be sued for discrimination based on race, gender and religion.