BIASED CYBERVETTING NO RECRUTAMENTO DIGITAL: ENTRE SEGMENTAÇÃO DE MÍDIAS E IDEALIZAÇÕES DE CANDIDATOS
Keywords:
Recruitment and selection., Social media., Cybervetting., Candidate idealization.
Abstract
The adoption of digital technologies by recruiters in recruitment and selection (R&S) processes has significantly changed organizational strategies, especially regarding the use of social media. Although previous studies have addressed how these platforms optimize HR activities, there is still a research gap concerning the strategies adopted by recruiters and the factors influencing their decision-making in the R&S process. To investigate this gap, we conducted a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews with ten recruiters who use social media in their processes. We identified that recruiters do not limit their information search to professional platforms such as LinkedIn, but also access personal-use networks such as Facebook and Instagram, aiming to use online information to evaluate candidates in a process known as cybervetting. Thus, the study contributes to the literature in two ways: first, by highlighting how different media are used to search for different candidates, following a logic of digital segmentation; second, by proposing the concept of biased cybervetting to describe an emerging practice characterized by the search for an “ideal candidate” on social media, based on R&S decisions shaped by idealizations and expectations about candidates’ posts.
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References
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LEONARDI, Paul M.; VAAST, Emmanuelle. Social media and their affordances for organizing: A review and agenda for research. Academy of Management Annals, v. 11, n. 1, p. 150-188, 2017.
MELÃO, Nuno; REIS, João. Selecting talent using social networks: A mixed-methods study. Heliyon, Países Baixos, v. 6, n. 4, 2020.
NIKOLAOU, Ioannis. What is the Role of Technology in Recruitment and Selection?. The Spanish journal of psychology, Madri, v. 24, p. e2, 2021.
PEKKALA, Kaisa; VAN ZOONEN, Ward. Work-related social media use: The mediating role of social media communication self-efficacy. European Management Journal, Glasgow, v. 40, n. 1, p. 67-76, 2022.
PÉREZ, Jessica Bayón; FALÓTICO, Andrés Jerónimo Arenas. Various perspectives of labor and human resources challenges and changes due to automation and artificial intelligence. Academicus, Frankfurt, n. 20, p. 106, 2019.
PLOYHART, Robert E. Staffing in the 21st century: New challenges and strategic opportunities. Journal of Management, Austrália, v. 32, n. 6, p. 868-897, 2006.
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SCHELLAERT, Maaike; OOSTROM, Janneke K.; DEROUS, Eva. Ageism on LinkedIn: Discrimination towards older applicants during LinkedIn screening. Computers in Human Behavior, Amsterdã, v. 162, p. 108430, 2025.
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VAAST, Emmanuelle. Strangers in the dark: Navigating opacity and transparency in open online career-related knowledge sharing. Organization Studies, Reino Unido, v. 44, n. 1, p. 29-52, 2023.
WALRAVE, Michel et al. Checked and approved? Human resources managers’ uses of social media for cybervetting. Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy, Suíça, v. 2, n. 2, p. 402-417, 2022.
WILCOX, Annika; DAMARIN, Amanda K.; MCDONALD, Steve. Is cybervetting valuable?. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Cambridge, v. 15, n. 3, p. 315-333, 2022.
APPEL, Gil; GREWAL, Lauren; HADI, Rhonda; STEPHEN, Andrew T. The future of social media in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Nova Iorque, v. 48, n. 1, p. 79–95, 2020.
BAERT, Stijn. Facebook profile picture appearance affects recruiters’ first hiring decisions. New Media & Society, Reino Unido, v. 20, n. 3, p. 1220‑1239, 2018.
BAUER, Martin W.; GASKELL, George (Orgs.). Qualitative researching with text, image and sound: A practical handbook for social research. London: Sage, 2000.
BERKELAAR, Brenda L. Cyber‑vetting: Exploring the implications of online information for career capital and human capital decisions. 2010. Tese (Doutorado em Psicologia Organizacional) — Purdue University, West Lafayette, 2010.
BERKELAAR, Brenda L. Cybervetting, online information, and personnel selection: New transparency expectations and the emergence of a digital social contract. Management Communication Quarterly, Missouri, v. 28, n. 4, p. 479‑506, 2014.
BERKELAAR, Brenda L. Different ways new information technologies influence conventional organizational practices and employment relationships: The case of cybervetting for personnel selection. Human Relations, Londres, v. 70, n. 9, p. 1115‑1140, 2017.
BERKELAAR, Brenda L.; BUZZANELL, Patrice M. Online employment screening and digital career capital: Exploring employers’ use of online information for personnel selection. Management Communication Quarterly, Conway, v. 29, n. 1, p. 84–113, jan. 2015.
BERKELAAR, Brenda L.; HARRISON, Marion A. Cybervetting. In: BERKELAAR, Brenda L.; HARRISON, Marion A. (Orgs.) The International Encyclopedia of Organizational Communication. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2017. p. 1‑7.
BLUMEN, Diego; CEPELLOS, Vanessa M. Dimensões do uso de tecnologia e Inteligência Artificial (IA) em Recrutamento e Seleção (R&S): benefícios, tendências e resistências. Cadernos EBAPE.BR, Rio de Janeiro, v. 21, n. 2, e2022‑0080, 2023.
CHAMORRO‑PREMUZIC, Tomas; AKHTAR, Reham; WINSBOROUGH, David; SHERMAN, Richard A. The datafication of talent: How technology is advancing the science of human potential at work. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, Amsterdã, v. 18, p. 13‑16, 2017.
CHARMAZ, Kathy. Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. London: Sage, 2006.
CHEN, Yan; SHERREN, Kate; SMIT, Michael; LEE, Kyung Young. Using social media images as data in social science research. New Media & Society, Reino Unido, v. 25, n. 4, p. 849–871, abr. 2023.
CUBRICH, Marc; KING, Rachel T.; MRACEK, Derek L.; STRONG, Jamie M. G.; HASSENKAMP, Kristen; VAUGHN, Daly E.; DUDLEY, Nikki M. Examining the criterion‑related validity evidence of LinkedIn profile elements in an applied sample. Computers in Human Behavior, Amsterdã, v. 120, p. 1-8, jul. 2021.
CUSUMANO, Michael A.; GAWER, Annabelle; YOFFIE, David B. The business of platforms: Strategy in the age of digital competition, innovation, and power. New York: Harper Business, 2019.
EL OUIRDI, Mariam; PAIS, Ivana; SEGERS, Johan; EL OUIRDI, Asma. The relationship between recruiter characteristics and applicant assessment on social media. Computers in Human Behavior, Amsterdã, v. 62, p. 415‑422, 2016.
PAIS, Ivana; EL OUIRDI, Mariam; SEGERS, Johan; EL OUIRDI, Asma. Predictors of job seekers’ self‑disclosure on social media. Computers in Human Behavior, Amsterdã, v. 53, p. 1–12, jul. 2015.
ELMHOLDT, Kasper Trolle; ELMHOLDT, Claus Westergård; HAHR, Lars. Counting sleep: Ambiguity, aspirational control and the politics of digital self-tracking at work. Organization, Reino Unido, v. 28, n. 1, p. 164–185, jan. 2021.
GAWER, Annabelle; BONINA, Carla. Digital platforms and development: Risks to competition and their regulatory implications in developing countries. Information & Organization, v. 34, n. 3, art. 100525, set. 2024.
GODOI, Christiane K.; BALSINI, Cristina PV. A pesquisa qualitativa nos estudos organizacionais brasileiros: uma análise bibliométrica. Pesquisa qualitativa em estudos organizacionais: paradigmas, estratégias e métodos. São Paulo: Saraiva, v. 481, p. 89-112, 2006.
HEDENUS, Anna; BACKMAN, Christel; HÅKANSSON, Peter. Whom do you know? Recruiters’ motives for assessing jobseekers’ online networks. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, v. 32, n. 8, p. 1754-1777, 2021.
HOLLAND, Peter; DOWLING, Peter; BREWSTER, Chris. HRM and the smart and dark side of technology. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, Estados Unidos, v. 60, n. 1, p. 62-78, 2022.
HOLLAND, Peter; JESKE, Debora. Changing role of social media at work: Implications for recruitment and selection. In: Electronic HRM in the smart era. Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, p. 287-309, 2017.
HOSAIN, Md Sajjad. Integration of social media into HRM practices: a bibliometric overview. PSU Research Review, Reino Unido, v. 7, n. 1, p. 51-72, 2023.
HOSAIN, Md Sajjad; LIU, Ping. The impact of social media recruitment on job candidates’ perceptions: Evidence from Bangladeshi fresh graduates. Postmodern Openings, Iași, v. 11, n. 1, p. 20–41, 2020.
KHULLAR, Arunima; PANDEY, Prakhar. Effective use of social media recruiting. International Journal of Intercultural Information Management, v. 4, n. 4, p. 216-227, 2014.
LADKIN, Adele; BUHALIS, Dimitrios. Online and social media recruitment: Hospitality employer and prospective employee considerations. International journal of contemporary hospitality management, Reino Unido, v. 28, n. 2, p. 327-345, 2016.
LAUKKARINEN, Matti. Social media as a place to see and be seen: Exploring factors affecting job attainment via social media. The Information Society, Londres, v. 39, n. 4, p. 199-212, 2023.
LAURIANO, Lucas Amaral; COACCI, Thiago. Losing control: The uncertain management of concealable stigmas when work and social media collide. Academy of Management Journal, Nova Iorque, v. 66, n. 1, p. 222-247, 2023.
LEONARDI, Paul M.; TREEM, Jeffrey W. Behavioral visibility: A new paradigm for organization studies in the age of digitization, digitalization, and datafication. Organization studies, Reino Unido, v. 41, n. 12, p. 1601-1625, 2020.
LEONARDI, Paul M.; VAAST, Emmanuelle. Social media and their affordances for organizing: A review and agenda for research. Academy of Management Annals, v. 11, n. 1, p. 150-188, 2017.
MELÃO, Nuno; REIS, João. Selecting talent using social networks: A mixed-methods study. Heliyon, Países Baixos, v. 6, n. 4, 2020.
NIKOLAOU, Ioannis. What is the Role of Technology in Recruitment and Selection?. The Spanish journal of psychology, Madri, v. 24, p. e2, 2021.
PEKKALA, Kaisa; VAN ZOONEN, Ward. Work-related social media use: The mediating role of social media communication self-efficacy. European Management Journal, Glasgow, v. 40, n. 1, p. 67-76, 2022.
PÉREZ, Jessica Bayón; FALÓTICO, Andrés Jerónimo Arenas. Various perspectives of labor and human resources challenges and changes due to automation and artificial intelligence. Academicus, Frankfurt, n. 20, p. 106, 2019.
PLOYHART, Robert E. Staffing in the 21st century: New challenges and strategic opportunities. Journal of Management, Austrália, v. 32, n. 6, p. 868-897, 2006.
RAJIANI, Ismi; ARISANTY, Deasy; RIANA, I. Gede. Social Media: The New Frontier for Human Resource Management in Asia. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, Nova Jersey, v. 2024, n. 1, p. 1-13, 2024.
ROBARDS, Brady; GRAF, Darren. “How a Facebook update can cost you your job”: News coverage of employment terminations following social media disclosures, from racist cops to queer teachers. Social Media+ Society, Reino Unido, v. 8, n. 1, 2022.
RUPAREL, Namita et al. The influence of online professional social media in human resource management: A systematic literature review. Technology in Society, Países Baixos, v. 63, p. 1-11, 2020.
SCHELLAERT, Maaike; OOSTROM, Janneke K.; DEROUS, Eva. Ageism on LinkedIn: Discrimination towards older applicants during LinkedIn screening. Computers in Human Behavior, Amsterdã, v. 162, p. 108430, 2025.
TOCZEK, Juliana et al. As mídias sociais e o cybervetting nos processos de R&S: Um estudo sobre o comportamento e a percepção dos candidatos. Revista de Ciências da Administração, Florianópolis, v. 26, n. 66, p. 1-24, 2024.
VAAST, Emmanuelle. Strangers in the dark: Navigating opacity and transparency in open online career-related knowledge sharing. Organization Studies, Reino Unido, v. 44, n. 1, p. 29-52, 2023.
WALRAVE, Michel et al. Checked and approved? Human resources managers’ uses of social media for cybervetting. Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy, Suíça, v. 2, n. 2, p. 402-417, 2022.
WILCOX, Annika; DAMARIN, Amanda K.; MCDONALD, Steve. Is cybervetting valuable?. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Cambridge, v. 15, n. 3, p. 315-333, 2022.
Published
2025-12-10
How to Cite
Ressetti Pinheiro Marques Vianna, F., Martinello Lins Pinheiro Vianna, R., Toczek, J., & Peinado, J. (2025). BIASED CYBERVETTING NO RECRUTAMENTO DIGITAL: ENTRE SEGMENTAÇÃO DE MÍDIAS E IDEALIZAÇÕES DE CANDIDATOS. Caderno De Administração, 33(2), 13-48. https://doi.org/10.4025/cadadm.v33i2.77610
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