Potential employers looking at social media profiles are far more likely to judge women on appearance and men on content, a new study has found.
Researchers from the University of the West of Scotland studied a group of employers as they reviewed Facebook profiles and asked them to judge each as potential job candidates.
By analysing the eye movements of the group, the research team found that women were predominantly being judged by their attractiveness, while male candidates were judged by the type of content on their page.
Psychology lecturer Dr Graham Scott, who carried out the study, said: "This is the first study to track people’s eye movements as they analyse social media profiles for a prospective employee – and the results are perhaps surprising.
"When it comes to assessing female candidates, there is a lot of reliance on photographs to judge the qualities of the candidate – this is true regardless of whether it’s a man or a woman reviewing the profile. Name is looked at first, then images. Finally, recent posts and friends are looked at.
"When it comes to assessing a male candidate, both men and women focus on name, profile information, recent posts, and friends."
Dr Scott said the results – published in the international journal Computers in Human Behaviour – could have significant ramifications for people entering the jobs market.
He said: "There is greater reliance than ever before on social media, both as a prospective candidate and as an employer – so many people have degrees now it can be difficult to differentiate between candidates.
"For that reason alone, having a strong profile and content could be the difference between getting a job and not even being invited for an interview."
A total of 29 men and 41 women took part in the study.
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