Looking for a job? Be careful what you post to Facebook
A word of warning to those about to upload Facebook pics of you half-naked and drinking with friends: don’t.
A word of warning to job hunters about to upload partying pics to Facebook: don’t.
Results from a new survey commissioned by online job site, CareerBuilder.com, found 22 percent of 3,169 U.S.-based hiring managers screen potential employees via social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.
In fact, the number of hiring managers who visit a prospect’s profile page has doubled since 2006, when 11 percent of those surveyed admitted to peeking at someone’s social networking profile before hiring them.
The concern is seeing unprofessional or inappropriate behaviour, such as excessive drinking, drug use or promiscuity.
The survey also found 34 percent of the managers who do screen candidates did indeed find content that made them drop the candidate as a consideration for the job.
So, what kind of pics do YOU have on your Facebook profile page?
Definitely check to make sure that your friends have not tagged you in their pictures either!
Good article. It's astounding how many groups there are that actually boast about bad behavior, and how many people don't seem to realize that if they want to be respected and thought of as reliable and mature, then maybe they shouldn't do anything stupid to begin with, but for goodness sake not to post it online if they have.
just hide your profile so that only friends can see it.. that way the employers dont see anything… its that simple.
How can employers see your profile if you haven't added them as a friend?
They are full of crap!
Sara: if I have a picture with both of us tagged on my profile, and if my settings are set to "public", then EVERYONE (because of my public settings) will be able to see MY picture, and will also be able to SEE YOU, just because of MY settings, not yours.
Promiscuity?!!!
Sounds really relevant to the job skills to me. The answer is high privacy settings.
But the question is, why is it portrayed as alright that employers discriminate based on irrelevant criteria, by snooping around places they shouldn;t be snooping anyway?
I'm always surprised when people get angry at people "snooping" at their online profiles. That's like walking outdoors naked and then screaming at people for looking at you. Online is a public place. It's open to everyone. If you walk out the front door without your pants on, I'm going to look at you.
Privacy is something you need to create for yourself, the general public will not just give it to you. Keep your profile access restricted through privacy settings. Be careful though, you have no control over the privacy settings on photos and videos your friends upload.
While I do question the character of any employer searching for evidence of "promiscuity" online…I also have to question the judgement of anyone that would post something that private for the world to see.
Yep, I'm taking a financial course and one of my instructors has repeatedly told us about situations like this where the employers do a quick search on google to find out more about the employee.
It's sad that they feel the need to be snoops. However your social personality and work persona may be opposites of one another. Some people can have fun but know what is appropriate in a professional setting to be respected and mature.
those recruiters are haters, it's like u're gonna have a party in the office when the boss is there and there's plenty to do!!!
My profile is private, but that seems to be not enough. Never thought of others tagging photos.. BUT would that not be a lot of work to go through to find people in tagged photos? It seems a bit much for an employer to go through for interviewing. Maybe they would not need the employee that they are to hire, IF they did not spend so much time on Facebook snooping… Just a thought..
I have been facebook "stalking" if even that. But I have been checking out my friends friends and even though some of their friends have their profiles as public, there are times when you can access their photo albums, because their photo albums are made public. The way I have accessed them is by clicking on the link where is says' so and so has been tagged in this photo.
Close your profile so that only your friends can see it. Simple solution.
Being tracked down by an employer is one reason, out of many, why I dont use my real last name on Facebook (or anywhere online). I dont feel I put anything embarassing on there but I have never liked the idea of people tracking me down, without my knowledge.
Since when is it okay for an employer to judge you on what you do OUTSIDE of work? all that should matter to an employer is that you have the qualifications to do the job and do it well. What you do outside of work is your own business it has nothing to do with the employer and no reflection on the company this is crazy I hate that employers believe that they have the right to invade our personal lives just because we work for them or May work for them News flash to all you employers out there who believe your employees are indebted to you someway the slave industry ended I have a right to my personal life which starts the moment I leave the office please start respecting that.
how about you just not use facebook?
no facebook?…no problem!
How do they check your page if you're not friends with them?
can't you just set your profile up so ONLY friends can see your page and noone else unless they add you as a friend? I think there are ways to have fun and get a job still lol.
All, what you do in your spare time. IE drinking your face off and falling down, behaving poorly in public is a signal to employers that you could have detrimental effects on their corporate reputation. As one who is in a position of authority, this is something I do not want. Hypothetically, you may work in my office, one day a client stops by and takes your business card, they happen to be surfing around and are curious if you may have mutual acquaintances somewhere… Guess what they find. Now I may lose a good client because they have seen that my staff may not be who they want working on their project.
Would you hire someone with "F)(*7 You" Tattooed across their face to be someone to deal with high end clients in a traditional business setting? Then why would you hire someone who drops their drawers, hikes their skirt or pukes on themselves and lets people take a photo. Or makes such poor choices in their relationships that someone else would post such an item with out asking? If someone can not take care of their own life, how can I expect them to take care of business?
An employer has every right to know how you behave in your "public" persona. It effects the bottom line, and the business is not there to let you potentially cost them money.
Don't do things you don't want the world to know about in this very public era of "the information age". Even before now compromising photos have cost jobs, marriages etc. It is just that more people can see you now, and can see them faster.
Have some common sense, if you do not want the world to see it, keep it behind closed doors. Simple, easy and to the point.
This is in response to "C"'s comment. 1.What you do OUTSIDE of work can greatly influence your ability to do your job; for example if you like to have a few drinks(get drunk) when you are out, stay out really late, etc. and this causes you to be late for work or leaves you having to deal with a hangover, you will not be able to perform your job properly and therefore you are not reliable to the employer. 2. All of these online social pages can be seen by just about anybody, anywhere including potential clients/customers. What kind of an image do we bring to the companies we work for if there a picture of this person drunk, that person dancing on tables, etc. ( even if we were not the ones to post these pictures, videos, etc.)and what is up with these x-rated profile pictures? Even if you have no so called "scandolous" pictures, what kind of impression is made when a prespective employer opens your facebook profile and the first thing they see is you in some skimpy lingerie or worse?
Facebook was supposed to be a social outlet where we could find old school mates,long lost friends and to connect with employers, etc. When and why did it become the place to demonstrate how down and dirty we can be?
We all seem to forget that actions always speak louder than words. So please think before you post or before your friends post, one "harmless" night of "fun" may come back at you.