The Influence of Social-Media Sites on Job-Seeker Intentions: Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter

Abstract

Little is known about the role that company social media networking sites play in job seeker attraction. This research helps address this gap. Subjects in this study evaluated the websites of three potential employers and then selected one employer to follow on social media in subsequent weeks. Each week subjects evaluated content, the activity of the recruiter who managed each site, and the activity of other users. In addition, at the end of each week subjects evaluated the usefulness of the social networking site and reported their attitudes and intentions towards the company. The results showed no differences in job seekers’ attitudes toward the company across different companies before social media was used. Yet, after social media was used there were meaningful differences in these attitudes. Additional analysis showed that the social media forms of Facebook and Linkedin had significant influence on job seekers’ attitudes toward the company while Twitter demonstrated no such influences.