The Wall Street Journal reports on a Carnegie Mellon study that found many businesses use social media to look up job applicants and suggests they use such data to discriminate. The study revealed that between 10 percent and one-third of U.S. firms searched social media to check on job applicants early in the hiring process. One of the study’s authors, Alessandro Acquisti, said, “By and large, employers avoid asking questions about these traits (such as religion or sexuality) in interviews,” adding, “But now technology makes it easier to find that information.” Meanwhile, The Atlantic’s featured article for December reports on the now common combination of Big Data analytics and human resources—also known as “people analytics”—and the way it’s transforming how employers hire, fire and promote employees. (Registration may be required to access this story.)
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