Something Extra: Can Facebook Profiles Predict Job Performance?
MIAMI (CBS4) - Be careful about what you put on Facebook.
About seven years ago, I did one of the early broadcast stories on the social networking site. Back then, it was still college-focused and you needed to have an "edu" email address to be a member. But there was already concern about how employers would react to Facebook postings.
Now, a new study suggests Facebook can be an effective job-screening tool because your profile can predict what kind of worker you will be.
Raters reviewed students' profiles and answered personality-related questions, including whether the students seemed dependable and emotionally stable.
Then, six months later, they compared the ratings against employee evaluations from the students' supervisors.
They found a strong correlation between job performance and the Facebook scores for conscientiousness, agreeability and intellectual curiosity.
Ironically, partying photos didn't necessarily count against a student, because they could indicate a student was extroverted and friendly.
There's no word on what employers think if you're one the few young adults who don't have a Facebook profile at all.
