Interpersonal perception of LinkedIn profiles and employability

Abstract

This paper presents two pilot studies related to the self-presentation of users of the professional social network LinkedIn. The first one looks at the most relevant categories users and observers employ when they assess LinkedIn profiles. The results show that professional and non-professional observers rely on similar aspects of the observable characteristics of these profiles to draw conclusions and form their assessment of a given candidate's employability. However, job selection professionals (recruiters) are more suspicious of profiles than non-professionals. The study concludes that candidates are highly aware of how they have to present themselves in a LinkedIn profile in order to attract the attention of selection professionals. The second pilot study asked whether certain gender roles, namely instrumentality (traditional masculinity) and expressiveness (traditional femininity), were predictors of the perceived employability of candidates, in addition to their competencies, personality and gender. The variable competencies turned out to be the strongest predictor of perceived employability, followed by expressiveness. These results are discussed in relation to changes in gender roles in society overall and in the labour world specifically.