The Credibility of Social Media for Job Search and Job Application as Perceived by Filipino Overseas Job Seekers

Abstract

Social media is widely used as source of job information and recruitment platform in the digital age. The convincing job offers and advertisements shared in an online networking environment influence job seekers' actual motivation to appl\ to a certain job post. This study examined how 350 Filipino overseas job seekers perceived social media for job search and job application through the lens of the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) Theory. It was revealed that interactivity as the top heuristic cue is crucial to the credibility assessment of social media, specifically on how job seekers evaluate the job information. It suggests that the more responsive the recruiter on the platform, the more it is perceived as credible by the jobseekers. Further, the research found a positive and significant relationship between the job seekers' perceived credibility of social media and their motivation or job pursuit intentions using the platform. This suggests that the more motivated the job seeker is, the higher the tendency that the person will engage in the effortful elaboration of the job offer. Significantly, this study presents a model of initial principles and attributes of credible sources that could help job seekers in evaluating credible job offers on social media platforms, and equally guide reputable recruitment agencies in producing credible job postings in an online networking environment.