Social Networking… : What is says to your employer Social Networking…
The Issue: : The Issue: Do not be surprised if the "How do you know this person?" section of the Facebook adds an "I worked for him or her" option in the near future. Career services officials at a number of schools say employers have begun using facebook.com to learn about candidates before making the decision of whether or not to hire them -- a potential concern for students currently waiting to hear about upcoming internship and job positions.
Yale Daily News, “Facebook becomes Tool for Employers”. Retrieved on June 7, 2009 from www.YaleDailyNews.com (February 2006)
Why employers do it: : Why employers do it: To try and find out what a person is like beyond the resume (will they show up hungover, are they a drug user, etc)
What job applicants/employees are saying about previous/current employers
How job candidates/employees spend their free time and does it reflect poorly on the company
How its happening : How its happening Software is being developed for employers to check social networking sites automatically
If an employer is an alumni at the job applicants/employee’s college, they can access their account
Employees are too liberal with what they post online
Negative effects: : Negative effects: Besides losing a potential or current job other harmful issues are arising:
1. An American insurance company is refusing to pay out a claim due to evidence found online about a person’s eating disorder
2. A sex assault victim’s character is being used against via evidence found online
3. And the list goes on and on…… http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-andtech/news/faceboohtml
How to protect yourself : How to protect yourself Don’t post anything online you don’t want your boss, your teacher, the world to see
Make your profile private…this will make it harder for your information to be searched
Questions to Ponder: : Questions to Ponder: Do you think employers should be able to judge you as an applicant or employee based on what they find online?
If no, would you want to know what an employee of yours was doing if you had the option? (Think daycare providers, coworkers, employees you may have, etc)