Five personality traits employers should look for in a job applicant's social media content

Job applicants try to make a good impression when meeting a prospective employer, but employers may be able to learn what applicants are really like by screening their social media posts. Unfiltered personal communications, photos, comments about others, and references to alcohol and drug use reflect five revealing personality characteristics that might impact their work performance, according to an article in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.

The article "Big Five Personality Traits Reflected in Job Applicants' Social Media Postings," identifies links between online behavior and extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience, according to authors J. William Stoughton, MS, Lori Foster Thompson, PhD, and Adam Meade, PhD, North Carolina State University, Raleigh.

"Becoming aware that employment screening is being enhanced by information provided on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook may affect individuals' choices of current posts by causing them to reflect on future consequences" says Brenda K. Wiederhold, PhD, MBA, BCIA, Editor-in-Chief of Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, from the Interactive Media Institute, San Diego, CA.