Do job seekers' social media profiles affect hospitality managers’ hiring decisions? A qualitative inquiry

Abstract

Guided by the Big Five personality traits and relevant literature, this qualitative study reports a content analysis of 11 semi-structured interviews with the human resource and operations managers in the hospitality industry regarding what types of information on job candidates' social media profiles (SMPs) may affect their hiring decisions. The results revealed that LinkedIn was the most preferred social media site. Hiring managers expected to observe extroversion, leadership, and professionalism from the candidates’ SMPs. Additionally, they favoured the posts with pictures about food, catering, and events but disliked those with inappropriate languages or content. The in-depth narrative insights reported in this study address a timely research topic in current literature and help hospitality stakeholders in the job market advance specific practical implications.