Your Online Identity (Or Is It Okay To Have Party Pictures On Facebook) Part II
September 19, 2008 – 9:50 am | by Daryl TayI’ve talked about this before and have had varying opinions from both sides of the argument. Of course, a topic like this isn’t going to be put to rest that easily, and I’d like to share with you something said in class today.
It was mentioned that something like 77% of employers screen their prospective employees on Facebook. I can almost hear the groaning now, but get this: the audience (aka the class) was given the opportunity to ask the rest of the class questions, and one of the questions was “If you were an employer, would you use Facebook to screen your prospective employees?”
Now we have these clicker remote devices that work as a polling device, and the result?
More than 75% of the 450 people attending the class said yes.
I don’t think we’re all from the same field, there are people from commerce, nursing, film, arts and science and many other places taking this course. But I think people of this generation know how things work. My point is even if you think the 40 or 50 year old boss isn’t checking our your Facebook profile, the newest member of the HR department is.
Still think you should leave your drunk pictures up there?
Tags: drunk pictures, employers checking facebook, facebook, online identity, online reputation, screening on facebook
19 Responses to “Your Online Identity (Or Is It Okay To Have Party Pictures On Facebook) Part II”
By Hisham on Sep 19, 2008 | Reply
facebook has varying levels of privacy, even for those you have already added as friends. USE IT!
By Daryl Tay on Sep 19, 2008 | Reply
@Hisham: That’s an interesting point of view actually. Does it suggest someone has something to hide if they are restricting how much you can view? I mean let’s say I meet five people at a party. I’m much more interested in those whom I can see a whole profile than those I can’t.
By Kevin Lim on Sep 19, 2008 | Reply
To elaborate on Hisham’s “levels of privacy”, I watched as a 17yr old college girl showed me how she manages her Facebook profile… ahem, or rather micromanage it. Here’s a little show and tell on how sophisticate privacy is negotiated in her social network: http://theory.isthereason.com/?p=2179
By Daryl Tay on Sep 19, 2008 | Reply
@Kevin: I just read that. Interesting if a little high on the upkeep! I can’t imagine doing that for over 500 friends!
By Hisham on Sep 19, 2008 | Reply
@Daryl I suppose; for employers, all they see are blank-non informational state and thus have to depend on the applicant’s CV.
By Daryl Tay on Sep 19, 2008 | Reply
@Hisham: I guess that works if they’re all non-informational states. I might imagine, though, that someone with a lot of info (that’s relevant to the job/passion) might “sound” better than a blank slate?
By Jonathan Kong on Sep 19, 2008 | Reply
No matter how much the other fence said to yes to party pictures, it is quite likely that the HR folks will do a check. That is, they are not new to social networking themselves.
As with any online activity, you are bound to leave traces of digital conversations and such. It is not difficult to find out, just use Google. Anyone can say they have a right to say what they like or post images they fancied but ultimately these could be use against you, one day.
Facebook has reinstated that that it is not a social networking site but a social utility to connect with your friens, the ppl around you. Like Hisham has mentioned, put the privacy controls to good use.
By brian on Sep 19, 2008 | Reply
it’s a bit sad init? that our personal lives (i hesitate to use the word “private”) are being used as a benchmark for our professional careers..
i mean, facebook was meant to be social, fun.. now it’s meant as a tool for career advancement.. i think it’s a tad tragic.
By Hisham on Sep 19, 2008 | Reply
out of topic - 450 attending a class? that sounded more like a seminar!
By cneil on Sep 19, 2008 | Reply
What if you aren’t drunk? What if you are just having a good time with friends? Facebook friend pictures could prove that you have a balanced social life.
By Daryl Tay on Sep 20, 2008 | Reply
@Brian: I think for the target market (ie college students) as it started out, it’s okay to have crazy Facebook profiles. But not when you’re in your 3rd year/4th year looking for work!
@Jonathan: You’re right. Even if YOU don’t put it on Facebook, someone else might put another picture on their blog, on Flickr, yaddayadda.
@Hisham: A lecture!
@Cneil: I think having a drink is fine! But you know there are picture with people smashed and lying flat out on the floor or puking in the grass. That’s a bit much for me.
By priscilla on Sep 21, 2008 | Reply
I remembered doing an interview with a reporter some months back about the exact same topic. I said, i would check out the candidate’s profile but it will probably not be the deciding factor. For example, if i am hiring a social media expert, it will give some small degree of credibility if i see that the person is at least mixing and have contacts with the community via blog/ facebook etc.
By Amsie. on Sep 22, 2008 | Reply
Kudos to those who wouldn’t mind having their prospective employer do a google on them and having the first result as a party photo (even if in a not so drunk state yet)! haha…
As for me, I’m managing my personal and corporate online profile with caution. Not that I’ve got two facades to me, but hey my personal life is my own business.
By brian on Sep 22, 2008 | Reply
it’s interesting that it’s socially ‘taboo’ topics that might hurt online reputation.
i don’t like taboo, and hope it doesn’t get in the way of one’s professional life.
By Nicole Then on Sep 23, 2008 | Reply
I kind of think that lines are blurring between the personal life and the business life. It’s best to portray an honest projection of your life. Because with the internet, lies are harder to cover and facades easier to break.
If someone feels that there’s nothing wrong with being drunk then so be it, dare to live out your life values. Pretending is cliché.
I think the problem is more of companies having to manage their corporate reputation if their own staff doesn’t. For example, a speaker was trying to demonstrate his search engine and typed ‘SMU’. Search results for the images…well not very flattering I would say. Yikes! Even the speaker was embarrassed.
By Daryl Tay on Sep 24, 2008 | Reply
@Nicole: Thanks for dropping by! I guess the easiest is to not do anything silly, so you won’t have to cover it up! Good point about collectively managing identity though. You want people to search your company/club/group/team and find stars, not crazy people! I can imagine what “SMU” would reveal actually. Heh heh.