Facebook Could Ruin Your [Future] Career

As we all know, due to the economic downturn there has been a significant amount of layoffs. As the unemployed wait for replies from dozens of potential employers, they may spend an exorbitant amount of time on the popular social network site known as Facebook. But as they load scores of photos, make wall messages, comment on videos and take quizzes, do they suspect that they are being watched?

According to Carrie Ann Skinner, “The job-search website [Careerbuilder.com] surveyed employers and found that 20 percent of companies admitted to checking out candidate's profiles on social-networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace before deciding to employ them. A further 9 percent said they planned to start reviewing potential employees’ social-networking pages in the future.

“The research also revealed that while 24 percent of employers had hired a member of staff based on their social-networking profile, 33 percent had also decided not to make a job offer after reviewing the content on a profile. Use of drugs or drinking and the posting of photographs deemed 'inappropriate' or 'provocative' were identified as the most popular reasons why employers eliminated a candidate after viewing their social networking profile.”

Seeing that the facebook profile contains information such as sexual preference, relationship status, religion and other personal information, it could be seen as discriminatory if the decision to fire/hire was determined by one of these factors.

Do you consider this an invasion of privacy? This is after all your personal life, and you would not conduct yourself in the same manner in the workplace. And many persons exaggerate a bit; indulge in false information just to make the profile a little more exciting. Of course, the employer could retaliate and claim that the information was publicly displayed so it is no longer private.

Some may argue that there is a time and a place for everything. Social networking sites are casual settings and organisations are professional ones. The two cannot, and should not be compared.

So, if a potential employer had to visit your Facebook page, would you get the job? Despite the controversial opinions, or the issue of fairness or unfairness, if you are desperately looking for a job you should do whatever you can to increase your chances. Keep the dirty and skanky photos in your personal mail for a while and overload your facebook page with positive and self-enhancing information. And if you are totally against this hiring practice, and refuse to conform to an “angel image”, make your page PRIVATE!

References:

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/151044/employers_admit_checking_facebook_before_hiring.html