Social network Perception Alignment of E-recruiters and Potential Applicants

Abstract

Benefits from online social networking are being incorporated into the selection processes used by e-recruiters. While this offers great potential for both recruiters and applicants, especially in an increasingly globalized environment, it requires both parties to have mutual understanding of each other's perceptions. This paper empirically explores a global sample containing 1498 applicants from 68 countries and 405 recruiters from 39 countries. We find that both students and recruiters underestimate the impact of each other's social network profile. A model is presented based on communication theory is used to explain these gaps. These gaps in perception will act as barriers to better utilization of global e-recruitment and need to be closed to allow efficient and effective use of social media for this function.