Could Facebook and MySpace Prevent You From Getting The Job You Want

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Could Facebook and MySpace Prevent You From
Getting The Job You Want?

• Career Success Seminar

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Being online used to mean that you had a
computer with an Internet connection. Now, it
also can mean that positive or negative
information about you is visible to anyone who
has access to a computer with an Internet
connection. Students-and other job seekers-who
set up profiles on social networking sites should
be aware of the possible consequences.

• NACE Journal, Spring 2006

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Sources Accessed by EmployersCan you name any
others? Such pages can make students look
immature and unprofessional, at best.

• Blogs
• Facebook
• Flickr
• Friendster
• Google
• IM-ing
• LinkedIn
• LiveJournal

• MySpace
• Photobucket
• Podcasts
• RSS Readers
• Ryze
• Xanga
• Yahoo

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How Do Employers Gain Access?

• Employees who are recent graduates often retain
  their college e-mail addresses, which enables
  them to see pages.
• Companies ask college students working as interns
  to perform online background checks.

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Example 1

• An employer decides that the finalists for a
  position look equal, but the information posted
  on one of their Facebook pages leaves a bad
  impression, and the employer decides to eliminate
  that candidate from consideration.

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Example 2

• When a small consulting company was looking to
  hire a summer intern, the companys president
  went online to check on a promising candidate who
  had just graduated. At Facebook, the executive
  found the candidates Web page with this
  description of his interests smokin blunts,
  shooting people and obsessive sex, all described
  in vivid slang. It did not matter that the
  student was clearly posturing. He was done.

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Example 3

• An recruiter visited a university for an alumni
  weekend and while there planned to interview a
  promising job applicant. Curious about the
  candidate, the employer went to her page on
  Facebook. She found explicit photographs and
  commentary about the students sexual escapades,
  drinking and smoking pot, including testimonials
  from friends. Among the pictures were shots of
  the young woman passed out after drinking.

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Example 4

• A recruiter rejected an applicant after searching
  the name of the student, a chemical engineering
  major, on Google. Among the things the recruiter
  found was this remark I like to blow things up.

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Example 5

• A young man signed up for interview on campus
  with corporate recruiters, but was seldom
  invited. A friend suggested that he research
  himself on Google. He found a link to a
  satirical essay, titled, Lying Your Way to the
  Top, that he had published last summer on a Web
  site for college students. He asked that the
  essay be removed. He began to be invited for job
  interviews, and he has now received several offers

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Example 6

• A young man created his Facebook profile when he
  was 18. Now 20, he had accumulated a good amount
  of material-typical college musing and
  photos-that his friend might enjoy but others
  might view differently. He was beginning to
  search for an internship, and should have
  considered limiting access to his profile to just
  his friends. Understanding the gravity of the
  situation, he did so.

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Example 6 (continued)

• Shortly after, he got the call he had been
  waiting for. A state agency wanted to interview
  him for an internship. He prepared for the
  interview and reviewed the types of questions
  that could be asked. He was ready, as ready as
  he could be.

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Example 6 (continued)

• But, during the interview, something he was not
  prepared for happened. The interviewer began
  asking specific questions about the content on
  his Facebook listing and the situation became
  very awkward and uncomfortable. He only those he
  allowed to access his profile, would be able to
  do so. But, the interviewer explained that as a
  state agency, recruiter accessed his Facebook
  account under the auspices of the Patriot Act.

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Employer Questions?

• What kind of judgment does this person have?
• Why are you allowing this to be viewed publicly,
  effectively, or semipublicly?
• Is there something about their lifestyle that we
  might find questionable or that we might find
  goes against the core values of our corporation?

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MySpace Safety Tips

• MySpace makes it easy to express yourself,
  connect with friends and make new ones, but
  please remember that what you post publicly could
  embarrass you or expose you to danger. Here are
  some common sense guidelines that you should
  follow when using MySpace
• Don't forget that your profile and MySpace forums
  are public spaces. Don't post anything you
  wouldn't want the world to know (e.g., your phone
  number, address, IM screens name, or specific
  whereabouts). Avoid posting anything that would
  make it easy for a stranger to find you, such as
  where you hang out every day after school.
• Don't post anything that would embarrass you
  later. Think twice before posting a photo or info
  you wouldn't want your parents or boss to see!

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Quick Poll Results

• More than one-quarter (26.9) of the
  organizations responding to NACEs recent quick
  poll on the practice of Googling candidates or
  reviewing their profiles on social networking
  sites (such as Facebook or Myspace) reported that
  they have done so at some point.

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Percent of Respondents That Have Googled/Viewed
Candidate Profiles Online,By Sector

• Services 30.9
• Manufacturing 21.9
• Govt./NP 20.0
• By type of employers, computer software
  development/data processing service firms were
  most likely to have engaged in this practice
• In addition, 41.7 of building materials/construct
  ion firms reported they had done so

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Future Plans, By Sector and Percent of Respondents
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Final Thoughts

• Clean up your profiles, group affiliations,
  posting walls, or anything else that may pose a
  potential issue.
• Remember that web information can be retained
  online in many ways hitting the delete button
  may not mean that the information is gone.
• Complete the Personal Internet Presence Job
  Seeker Self-Audit. View the results through the
  perspective of a potential employer.
• Create an action plan for improving your online
  image and decide how to use the Internet to
  enhance the job search.

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Beyond The Job Search Process

• Trouble at work or with the law
• Financial risks
• Risk to reputation
• Privacy risks
• Stalking
• If you get together with someone you meet through
  a blog-the possibility of molestation, robbery,
  and other attacks

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CONTACT INFORMATION

• Office of Career Services
• University Center, Room 111
• [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• www.uttyler.edu/careerservices
• Krista Richardson, Coordinator of Career Services
• krichardson_at_mail.uttyl.edu