Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/126677 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 9584
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We investigate whether the publicly available information on Facebook about job applicants affects employers' hiring decisions. To this end, we conduct a field experiment in which fictitious job applications are sent to real job openings in Belgium. The only characteristic in which these candidates differ is the unique Facebook profile that can be found online with their name. Candidates with the most beneficial Facebook picture obtain approximately 39% more job interview invitations compared to candidates with the least beneficial picture. In addition, we find suggestive evidence for a higher effect of Facebook profile picture appearance on hiring chances when candidates are highly educated and when recruiters are female.
Subjects: 
hiring
screening
Facebook
Internet
personality
attractiveness
JEL: 
C93
D83
J24
J79
L86
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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