You Only Have Yourself To Blame: People Losing Jobs Over Social Network Profiles
from the this-isn't-that-hard-to-figure-out-is-it? dept
Over the past few years, we’ve had plenty of stories about how Google has become your permanent record, and that can sometimes work against you when looking for a job. Yet another column about that isn’t so interesting, but this piece in Computerworld notes that many candidates today are surprised to find out that, beyond just Google, recruiters are probably looking at their social networking profile as well. In other words, those drunken escapades you describe on TheFacebook or in MySpace probably aren’t such a good idea as you come on the job market. If the police are using these social networks to track down criminal behavior, it shouldn’t be a surprise that recruiters are as well. And, the good news is that, unlike some of the other stuff Google will dig up about you, things in your own profile are under your control.
Comments on “You Only Have Yourself To Blame: People Losing Jobs Over Social Network Profiles”
Annoying fad anyway
Cool. Another reason for me to not jump on this social networking site bandwagon. I don’t really understand the whole infatuation with it, but maybe that’s because I’m not a teenager. I’ve caroused through MySpace sites and 95% of them are brutal, i.e. terribly designed, slow loading, etc. etc. I get that they aren’t all pro web page designers, but you would at least think that there would need to be some appeal other than ‘shout-outs’ to your friends to keep them coming back.
I’ll be glad when it’s over.
What's out there
What is out there about a particular individual is entirely within the control of that individual. I have information online that I have put out there. I don’t think it is all that offesnsive, but it is my personality. if a potential employer sees that info, then so be it. I put it there, I can just as easly remove it, or use it to my advantage by posting info I know “they” will like.
Re: What's out there
How can you say this and think that this is true? A myriad of people could ‘control’ how an individual is percieved on-line. Even in the physical world what is out there about you is not entirely under your control and the internet is 10x worse. Any smuck could put bogus info about anyone out there.
No Subject Given
I have a myspace profile and it’s been really good to me.
I’ve met girls and dated them…
I’ve met new friends because of myspace. Myspace is great.
I don’t have anything incriminating on mine though, so I don’t think I’d be too bothered by a future employer checking mine out…although there are some blogs dedicated to my depression.
No Subject Given
Fuck ’em!
http://www.myspace.com/keithrichards
ummm...welllll...DUHHH!!!! did you think people WO
Seems to me that the only people that would have an issue with this are the people that live a lifestyle that they either are or possibly should be ashamed of. I’m a family man with a good job and friends all over the country that I don’t get to see on a regular basis. I use MySpace to keep in touch with those people and my family that I also don’t get to see all that often as I normally work nights. Of course I have friends on my list with “questionable” content on their sites…but they’re not me. So if someone wants to have issues issues with me due to my firends, then I say they aren’t the kind of people I’d want to work for anyways.
Re: ummm...welllll...DUHHH!!!! did you think peopl
stupid thread…it cut off my subject…
it was supposed to say:
ummm…welllll…DUHHH!!!! did you think people WOULDN’T READ IT?
nickname anyone?
myspace isnt just for teenagers. however i tend to agree that there are some just terrible pages. age doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with taste.
and, you can have a presence in the online world and the average joe wouldnt know who you are if you used a nickname. goodness, how difficult is that? you dont have to tell anyone but your friends about your nickname. and where you use your nickname, NEVER POST YOUR REAL NAME! or even uniquely identifiable information.
in other words, dont put the email you gave to your boss on the site. use a separate personal email. things like aliases and forwarding make this easy to manage.
here's an idea
don’t be an idiot – get two profiles, one with your real name for tracking purposes (because your long lost friends will never find you with a weird ass nickname) and another, with pictures where you’re running around naked with flowers on your head on the gay infested streets of san francisco.
Re: here's an idea
Kudos! I like this comment.
Just don’t be retarded, and you’re pretty much OK. If your employer finds a gallery of pictures of your naked self streaking across public parks with your ‘piece’ hanging out and flapping in the wind, that’s your fault. You posted them for the rest of the world to see… and sould be able to remove them just as easily.
Don’t get mad if you make an appearance on Girls gone Wild or whatever that new one for women is, Guys gone Wild or something like that, when someone buys the video and calls you on it for flashing your bad-self on camera and signing a release in exhange for ‘valuable prizes’ or more drinks.
It’s not that difficult to be anyonymous on the internet; like Mata said, go under an alias.
For the terminally stupid, just take your name, put an “izzle” in the middle, add a “Sexy” to the front, and a suffix to the end like “Esquire.”
Now “George” becomes SexyGeoGizzle, M.D. and you’re all set.
You only have yourself to blame if...
As a general rule, I don’t post anything online that is not the truth, or that is denegrating to another individual, or would put me in anothing other than a good light. If you are stupid enough to write details about anything questionable, whether it be an act or thought or even the crowd you run with, then you probably deserve any attention you get.
No Subject Given
Life is one big intelligence test. MySpace didn’t get these people fired or not hired, it was their own stupidity. I’ll bet that if MySpace didn’t exist these same people would be unable to find or maintain gainful employment for some other equally idiotic reason. The Internet doesn’t make people into idiots, it just gives idiots a new playground.
well, when im on myspace i dont say everything about me, i use a diff. name and where i live, its weird…
aass
wow immaturity of employers
they shouldnt judge on what people have on their personal site anyway im sure at one point in their lives those people hiring the people they searched have done stuff like that in their life time and there is a big difference between social life and professional life so it shouldnt impact if they get hired or not it is redundant to not hire because of a webpage