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Dragonlady8
Black Widow
Joined: 27 Aug 2004
Posts: 9198
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 Posted: Aug 18, 2008 4:01 pm Post subject: Why I'm glad I don't have Facebook or Myspace site |
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26223330/
| Quote: | Facebook friends as job references?
These days, hiring managers can talk to anyone about you
By Eve Tahmincioglu
updated 11:15 a.m. ET, Mon., Aug. 18, 2008
Time was you could control the references a prospective employer contacted because you provided them with a well-thought out list of colleagues and former bosses you knew would provide glowing recommendations.
But with the proliferation of social networking sites loaded with lists of your contacts, and your contacts’ contacts, it’s like the Wild West of references for job seekers. You never know whom a hiring manager may end up talking to about you.
Almost every human resource professional I talk to lately admits to using these social networking sites to check out applicants, beyond just public profiles and resumes. In many cases, if an HR person shares a job seeker’s connection on a networking site, they’ll just e-mail that contact to find out the dirt on the applicant without permission from the applicant.
The thinking is, there’s nothing illegal or unethical about it because you’re flaunting your connections in the public domain.
So it’s time to think long and hard about the many friends and contacts you now have on your social networking pages. Just because someone is on your list of friends on Facebook doesn’t necessarily mean you want that individual as your reference for a job.
“The old days of a page with three references and three phone numbers on it that you controlled are over,” says Jennifer L. Berman, an HR attorney with consulting firm CBIZ in Chicago. “With these networking sites, you’ve opened up your rolodex for the whole world to see.”
Cybersleuthing
Indeed, Sergio Alvarez, executive vice president of Internet sales for Internet advertising firm Ambassador Media Group, recently used LinkedIn to get the skinny on a candidate he was considering hiring.
“This sales person was on LinkedIn and he had a contact on there from one of our competitors. Since everyone knows everyone in this industry, we contacted someone there directly,” he explains.
The job applicant had no idea Alvarez was doing the stealthy online reference check, but it worked out well for the candidate because he got a positive recommendation and the job.
If you don’t want prospective employers calling certain people on your friends’ list, you could list those individuals on a private list, which many sites now offer. But that sort of defeats the purpose of these sites: networking.
Many of these networking sites now include functions allowing contacts to include written recommendations or you're-a-great-person labels. LinkedIn literally has an icon of a thumb pointing up to signify a friend or associate has recommended a contact.
On Jobster.com, there’s a section where you can ask your colleagues to send you a letter of recommendation.
Here’s the canned e-mail you can send out: Would you write a brief recommendation of my work that I can include on my Jobster profile? |
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[quote="Swass"] 8824, dude - I suck. You were right.[/quote]. |
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Neognosis
Ladies Man
Joined: 13 Jan 2003
Posts: 17617
City: Webster
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| Posted: Aug 18, 2008 4:06 pm Post subject: |
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Just hide all that stuff from people who you don't approve as a "friend."
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I walk 47 miles of barb wire, I got a cobra snake for a necktie, a brand new house up on the road side, and it's made out of rattlesnake hide |
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Okie Boarder
Ladies Man
Joined: 03 Mar 2008
Posts: 10056
City: Edmond
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| Posted: Aug 18, 2008 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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I was kinda thinking the same thing. Or, delete your profile when you are job searching.
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If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular? |
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jt09
Ladies Man
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 22083
City: Austin
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| Posted: Aug 18, 2008 6:25 pm Post subject: |
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| cameraboy wrote: | | Just hide all that stuff from people who you don't approve as a "friend." |
on facebook, which is much more popular w/ folks w/ real jobs these days, you can see who someone's mutual friends are w/o being their friend.
so an hr type who is well networked clicks on your profile and it shows a friend in common, that hr type can contact that person and ask about you.
asking about personal stuff is illegal when they call old employers but now they can dig it up legally because you put it out there. your profile can be clean as a whistle, but a friend in common can screw you. |
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microman
PityDaFool Who Posts This Much
Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 5377
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| Posted: Aug 18, 2008 6:56 pm Post subject: |
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There are ways on facebook to make yourself almost invisible, where you won't show up on any "friend lists" or even be found in searchs. About the only time your name is seen (and still without a profile) is when you leave a comment or get tagged in a photo.
I'm still surprised though at the number of people who allow their complete profile to be viewed by anyone in their network, which could be a million people. |
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jt09
Ladies Man
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 22083
City: Austin
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| Posted: Aug 18, 2008 6:58 pm Post subject: |
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| if you don't put stupid crap in your profile, what does it matter? |
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microman
PityDaFool Who Posts This Much
Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 5377
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| Posted: Aug 18, 2008 7:10 pm Post subject: |
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| True, but many people don't seem to realize that and have contact info and other personal information listed. |
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NVChickadee
Wakeboarder.Commie
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
Posts: 1968
City: Sparks
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| Posted: Aug 18, 2008 8:07 pm Post subject: |
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I have both - my myspace is a little more personal, but still clean - and I don't use my real name there - although, I'm sure someone could find it if they want - no biggie, do I want to work for a company whose managers have enough time to screw around with myspace searches?
Facebook I have because our marketing department asked us to sign up - I won
$100 for the effort but put very little info on there, other than who I work for. If I ever leave the company, I'll probably delete the profile... It is very easy to dig up info on people these days, even if I had the time I would take it all with several grains of salt.
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You say psycho like it's a bad thing... |
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Capix
Outlaw
Joined: 10 May 2008
Posts: 194
City: Ft. Lauderdale
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| Posted: Aug 18, 2008 8:45 pm Post subject: |
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| I have a myspace, but rarely use it. I think it's even set to private. I think I might as well erase it, in my opinion those pages are a waste of time. |
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