HASith its 830 million daily users worldwide – half of subscribers are under 34 – LinkedIn has become the number 1 network for recruiters. This tool is often seen as a bank of digital CVs, a means of making contacts and finding others, of publishing information. But it is much more than that.
The candidates indicate where they worked and studied, they write short biographies – the famous “summaries” –, list their qualities and skills and follow other people. “All this information, the quantity of which is enormous if you pay attention to it, can be very useful to employers looking for the perfect candidate”, observes Sébastien Fernandez. Doctor in psychology, this associate professor at the EHL Business School – the prestigious hotel school in Lausanne – teaches organizational behavior there.
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With two of his colleagues – sociopsychologist Lohyd Terrier and management specialist Sowon Kim Crettex – this researcher is writing an interesting study on the “signals” that LinkedIn can offer to human resources professionals to identify and assess the profile of a candidate. .
Published in the Journal of Research in Personalitya scientific journal dedicated to the psychology of personality, this work highlights the ten indicators that “talent” managers should look closely at to assess the “skills” and the potential of a candidate, in their ” cyberwatch”.
The objective is to “find out information that could confirm or invalidate a qualification, identify potential warning signs but also get to know the candidates better, their personality and their areas of interest”. The famous soft skills (“soft skills”), in particular, these personal and extra-professional skills (emotional intelligence, creativity, interpersonal skills, empathy, etc.), which have become central in the eyes of recruiters.
Actionable insights
“The information available on personal social networks (Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, etc.) ultimately offers relatively little information that employers can use,” says Sébastien Fernandez in his study. Previous research has not shown, in any case, that it was likely to assess and predict the professional development of candidates, who for their part consider that employers do not have to consult their personal social media. On the other hand, and this is the aim of our work, LinkedIn, if used well, offers valuable elements of personality. »
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This teacher-researcher’s publication is based on data collected from 607 former EHL graduates. “We were interested in their personality, more specifically their ability to open up to others and to experience, their human and professional conscience, their communication skills, their relational qualities… We then analyzed to what extent their profile LinkedIn could bring out those specific skills. Finally, we have identified ten useful indicators for considering the personality of a potential employee,” explains Dr. Fernandez.
The study concludes with this warning: “While the data collected on LinkedIn provides useful and relevant information on the personality of a candidate or an employee, a recruiter cannot rely on it alone. These indicators must obviously be combined with other sources of information and selection techniques, starting with the job interview,” concludes Sébastien Fernandez.
The ten criteria
1. The number of connections and the size of the network: subscribers, relations and publications. “This data assesses a person’s dynamism and sociability. Below 300 connections, we can think that we are dealing with an introverted profile”, indicate the authors of the study.
2. The presence of a “summary” (Info section), a sign of commitment and professionalism. “The care given to this section indicates a certain meticulousness, the seriousness of the candidate, his ability to carry out a task or a project. »
3. Information on the marks – and mentions – obtained during the studies. “The presence of this information on the profile reveals an attention to detail, a conscientious and orderly personality but, beware, it is only of value for young graduates. »
4. The number of languages spoken. “People who are curious and eager to learn have often invested in learning foreign languages in the past. Their number is a good indicator to assess whether a person is open-minded. »
5. The backdrop for the profile picture. “People who display their company logo in the background of their profile seem to indicate that they are more engaged with their work and their company. Those who prefer landscapes or artistic productions often turn out to be more creative. »
6. Skills. Beyond the technical knowledge, “this section offers, in hollow, useful information on the interpersonal qualities put forward by the candidates: sense of leadership and communication (sociability), organization and time management (professional conscience), teamwork (pleasant and cooperative personality), curiosity and creativity (open-mindedness)…”
7. Smile. “People who smile broadly are probably more cooperative than those who smile little or not at all. Beware of gender bias: women tend to smile more than men.
8. Volunteer activities. “You should not miss this information, which is very valuable for jobs requiring teamwork. »
9. Typos. “Even if it is tempting to see it as an indicator of the level of seriousness of a candidate, it has not been demonstrated that conscientious individuals make fewer typos than others. Spelling, on the other hand, is an important element – especially in France.
10. Professional attire. “Again, there is no evidence that the way people are dressed in their profile picture is useful information to assess the personality of a candidate. It corresponds more to social norms and to the expectations of a given professional environment. “To put into perspective, therefore…