# Checked and Approved? Human Resources Managers' Uses of Social Media for Cybervetting
## 5 Discussion  
As a growing number of individuals are disclosing personal information on SNS from a young age and share this information with a diversity of social circles, the present study assessed if and how HR professionals use personal information they find on SNS to check and evaluate job applicants. To gain a deeper insight into their motives, in-depth interviews were conducted. This study contributes to the literature by: (1) investigating which information about job candidates HR professionals search for on SNS; (2) determining how HR managers interpret this information; and by (3) sounding out HR managers of governmental and profit organizations, we investigated potential differences. In general, HR managers were found to, first and foremost, rely on the traditional cover letter, CV and job interview to make decisions. SNS were used as an additional source of information by some HR managers in several phases of the selection process. However, when screening job applications, they often searched for information about candidates online to check for possible mismatches between claimed experiences and competences, and the information found online. This is in line with Swedish research that found that recruiters value transparency and truthfulness, and use social media to verify the truthfulness of a job candidate's application file [12]. Some respondents state they only check LinkedIn as this is a professional SNS, while others indicate checking Facebook, Twitter and performing a Google search to check what information pops up. It gives HR professionals a broader picture of candidates, as they gain insight into what moves them and whether the candidates would fit in the organizational culture. Also, their language proficiency and how they'sell' themselves online are important, depending on the position they apply for. The respondents are aware that how someone presents themselves online can be the product of impression management. Therefore, by gaining access to the candidate's online social network, common connections can be found that serve as an interesting supplementary source of information. From the information found online, pictures play an important role in the evaluation of job applicants, and especially photographs posted by a job candidate's connections have a warranting effect. As pictures but also information posted by an applicant's connections can be less manipulated, it is assumed to be more reliable [37; 38]. Pictures were also seen as informative when it considers a candidate's spare time activities, drinking behavior and physical appearance. HR professionals from governmental organizations differed from professionals of the profit-sector by the fact that political views may play a role for the former. However, some HR professionals of governmental organizations nuance this, as political views of a job candidate would be more important for some (executive) functions. In sum, some HR professionals use SNS to have a more complete picture of the candidate and in order to assess the truthfulness of their applications. As social media offer insight into one's personal network, spare time activities and opinions concerning topical issues, it covers more aspects of one's personality than a CV. Nevertheless, some HR managers do not collect personal information about job candidates through social media, as they want to make a clear distinction between private life and work. They do not want their assessment of candidates to be influenced by information that is not related to their professional qualities. In contrast, one respondent indicated to have followed a'recruiter hacking course' to be able to dig deeper into online information and trespass privacy settings. Finally, the absence of job candidates from social media makes some HR professionals extra alert. While some conclude that job candidates who have no online presence are not keeping up with the times, others respect this deliberate choice. Some respondents, puzzled by this absence from social media, feel encouraged to dig deeper.