In case you didn’t know this already, schools and companies will Google you and check out your Facebook before even interviewing you.
I have realized this for quite some time and have made a conscious effort to keep my Facebook clean and not get too in depth when anything I post myself. I un-tag myself out of any pictures with a lot of alcohol even if I’m not drinking, or anything else inappropriate that I wouldn’t bring with me to display at an interview. Because of this, there are companies now who can be hired to do a “clean up” on your Facebook. Specifically this article is about people applying to business schools and admission officials checking your Facebook to see if you are professional enough. These consulting firms specialize in image control and scan the entire Internet including your Facebook profile for any thing that might look bad to a future school. Basically, they do something that you don’t have the time or patience to do, which will help you in the long run.
http://www.allfacebook.com/consultancies-clean-profiles-for-mba-hopefuls-2011-03
First of all I have to say that the school I work for also started using Facebook to check out a teacher’s profile. I have heard of companies doing this, and while doing some research for our fourth journal, I understand many companies are doing it. I remember a few years back I applied at a nanny outsourcing company and they specifically told me to set any of my networking site information to private because parents will screen you before they consider interviewing you. The person I worked with at the nanny company had told me that some prospects were turned down because parents didn’t like what they saw on Facebook or MySpace. Personally I think what you do on your own time shouldn’t be a primary consideration to your employment.
ReplyDeleteI am of the opinion that anybody who wants to can go ahead and look me up. I have nothing to hide, so I don't care if they look at my Facebook. I avoid posting anything overtly offensive or that would put me in a questionable light. So many people will post anything and everything on Facebook without a second thought. This is where you can get into trouble. If you use it wisely, you shouldn't have much to worry about.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that using Facebook as a means of filtering candidates, for jobs or otherwise, is illegal. That being said, I'm sure it happens all the time. They simply don't mention it specifically during the process. They can give you a host of other reasons why in most cases. If they were to come out and say that you weren't hired/accepted because of your Facebook, they could get in trouble.