How Facebook is Killing Careers Before They Start
A lot of people have warned about the danger of posting inappropriate material to your profile!
I found a great article today by Chris Johnson about someone who skipped work in order to attend a halloween party.
Whether he is still working for his company isn’t clear at this stage.
Apart from making such an incredible blunder, when he emailed his employer he BCC’d the whole office.
Here is part of the article:
Social networking on the internet is today’s equivalent of instant messaging in the mid 90’s.
It’s become like Hansel in the movie Zoolander, “so hot right now.” But social networking can cripple your career faster than lighting a cigarette after having a gasoline fight at the pump while jamming out to “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” by Wham!.
Signing up to sites like MySpace, YouTube, and Facebook is simply the norm for most college students and recent graduates.
There are many dangers that exist when posting information and pictures on the web, because everything you post on the internet is essentially public.
I read a little fact in my company elevator reported by CareerBuilder.com that said 12% of recruiters and interviewers are using social networking sites as part of their background checks.
You’ve all probably heard the story about the Northwestern womens soccer team that posted their ritual hazing pictures on a public photo sharing site.
The team was suspended for a brief period of time and many of the players were put on probation.
There are now required classes about the dangers of social networking sites for college athletes at many universities across the country.
Higher education has realized that a bad social networking decision on the internet can hurt your career before it even begins.
This is true for the corporate world as well. The full article…
The original article has a lot more detail and is recommended reading.
One of the implications of social media is that gaining maturity in life is a whole lot more public than it was when I was younger.
The fact is, as is recorded by the original writer, that once something is posted online it is in the public domain.
A bloke in a fairy costume for his boss and the rest of the world to see…dumb!
Absolutely true. But there are question more to it;
Why shouldn’t we see this as an extra step for people being more open?
Why shouldn’t we approve background check, if we really believe that we worth that and that?
Internet & social networks in specific have a ‘democratic’ element for the society as a whole; Expression.
So, when one expresses, i.e. posts something on her/his facebook profile for example, this is an extra assistance for the ‘stakeholders’ of this person’s social sphere, including professional world as well.
The issue, as described by the article of Chris Johnson, defends only the negative side of it, which is the obvious and non disputable one. However, internet as a space of public presence and participation, is a part of our life today and we are solely responsible for what we do and what we do not do on it.
Why should we blame the social networks for this?
Like in every social environment, we can face all kinds of dangers, and likewise in social networks we must not forget that WE are the ones to blame or not, and not the networks where we express our presence.
If a person, for example, comes to work for me and my HR departnment informs me of a ‘funny’ finding about this person in any social sphere, be it internet or real world, I will consider that finding and will not ignore it.
I believe that the more people expose their behaviour in the public, the better our society becomes. Social networks are not to be blamed for having people’s expression available to anyone. We must blame people for not expressing at all, blame those who are hiding, and blame those who do not care to share one bit of who and what they are.
”Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence”
Henri Frederic Amiel
all the best dearest Allan. Your blog here has become just another addiction for me together with my coffee and my cigarettes 🙂
From a rocky corner of Europe,
George
I agree that it comes down to personal responsibility, and it was definitely the person’s own fault for posting the image and lying about why he wasn’t at work.
Being part of a social environment, whether it’s on the Internet, or off line, means taking social responsibility.
I love the quote: ”Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence” Henri Frederic Amiel