Facebook self-(re)presentation and the employers' practice of using it as a recruitment tool

Although Facebook was created to encourage personal connections, community sharing, and social interaction, employers' access and use of this resource as a tool in the applicant pre-employment screening process introduces new ways in approaching social media. The hiring authorities rely on the fact that Facebook is in a public domain and stands for an extremely beneficial and cost-effective mechanism - accessing Facebook is a low-cost, fast, and efficient way to vet prospective candidates to potentially avoid costly superficial hiring decisions; also, the information gathered provide relevant cues about the individual's character, morals, values, habits, activities, and interests. Still, gathering additional personal information about a job candidate that is not job-related could lead to employer bias or unfair evaluations.