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Most people use social media to some extent - blogging/vlogging, forums, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. It's become the new message board and party line of this new age. Then responsibility eventually hits you. Despite the opportunities the Internet offers for self-expression, you will eventually need a job. That's when your online presence can pose a problem. In an age where more and more of our personal information—and our private social interactions—are online, it is vital that all individuals be allowed to determine for themselves what personal information they want to make public and protect personal information from their would-be employers. This is especially important during the job-seeking process, when all the power is on one side of the fence.
The news is full of reports of employers turning down applicants based on online posts; some employers even ask applicants to supply their Facebook, Twitter, or other online passwords, to allow access to information that they’ve tried to keep private as part of the interview process.
Employers—both public and private—are increasingly asking job applicants to do the equivalent, by turning over their Facebook user IDs and passwords as part of the interview process. Employers report rejecting job applicants when they find references to drug use, heavy drinking, sexually offensive materials, violent imagery, etc. This development should be alarming to job seekers—as it seems quite intrusive for someone who has not even hired you to be able to quickly see your friends and family, learn about your religious and political affiliations, find out about any support group meetings you attend, and access other intimate information about your life. Have you ever gone to a job interview and had a prospective employer ask to see letters you’ve written to friends or family members, or your family photo albums? Have prospective employers asked for the key to your apartment so that they can snoop around? The answer to these questions should, of course, be “No.”
Facebook and Twitter are being used a lot to screen job applicants. On Facebook and Twitter, hirers are trying to get a more personal view of a candidate, rather than the resume-like view they will see on LinkedIn. Hirers are looking at the social networking profiles of candidates very early in the process. This means that job seekers need to have their online act in order before they begin looking for a job. The bottom line is that it is important for users, whether they are looking for a job or building up their professional reputation, to manage their online image across the different social networks they use.
Employers already believe it’s a good idea to check job candidates’ Facebook pages to make sure there aren't any horrible red flags there. The reddest flags for most employers seem to be drugs, drinking, badmouthing former employers, and lying about one’s qualifications. But there’s another good reason for checking out a candidate’s Facebook page before inviting them in for an interview: it may be a fairly accurate reflection of how good they’ll be at the job. Don Kluemper of Northern Illinois University helped conduct a study that suggests a person’s Facebook page can predict job performance and academic success.
Researchers hired HR types to rate hundreds of college students’ Facebook pages according to how employable they seemed. They asked them to form impressions of a candidate based solely on their Facebook page. This involved looking at what was publicly available on those pages (photos, status updates, and conversations with friends) and then assigning each person a score for a number of qualities important to being a good employee, such as their degree of emotionally stability, conscientiousness, extroversion, intellectual curiosity and agreeableness. (In other words, will they flip out on you, care about completing tasks, be fun to work with, be creative in problem solving, and be willing to kiss up when necessary?) Next, the researchers got in touch with their guinea pigs’ employers to ask about their job performances. The researchers found a strong correlation between those employers’ reviews and the employability predictions they had made based on folks’ profile pages.
The news is full of reports of employers turning down applicants based on online posts; some employers even ask applicants to supply their Facebook, Twitter, or other online passwords, to allow access to information that they’ve tried to keep private as part of the interview process.
Employers—both public and private—are increasingly asking job applicants to do the equivalent, by turning over their Facebook user IDs and passwords as part of the interview process. Employers report rejecting job applicants when they find references to drug use, heavy drinking, sexually offensive materials, violent imagery, etc. This development should be alarming to job seekers—as it seems quite intrusive for someone who has not even hired you to be able to quickly see your friends and family, learn about your religious and political affiliations, find out about any support group meetings you attend, and access other intimate information about your life. Have you ever gone to a job interview and had a prospective employer ask to see letters you’ve written to friends or family members, or your family photo albums? Have prospective employers asked for the key to your apartment so that they can snoop around? The answer to these questions should, of course, be “No.”
Facebook and Twitter are being used a lot to screen job applicants. On Facebook and Twitter, hirers are trying to get a more personal view of a candidate, rather than the resume-like view they will see on LinkedIn. Hirers are looking at the social networking profiles of candidates very early in the process. This means that job seekers need to have their online act in order before they begin looking for a job. The bottom line is that it is important for users, whether they are looking for a job or building up their professional reputation, to manage their online image across the different social networks they use.
Employers already believe it’s a good idea to check job candidates’ Facebook pages to make sure there aren't any horrible red flags there. The reddest flags for most employers seem to be drugs, drinking, badmouthing former employers, and lying about one’s qualifications. But there’s another good reason for checking out a candidate’s Facebook page before inviting them in for an interview: it may be a fairly accurate reflection of how good they’ll be at the job. Don Kluemper of Northern Illinois University helped conduct a study that suggests a person’s Facebook page can predict job performance and academic success.
Researchers hired HR types to rate hundreds of college students’ Facebook pages according to how employable they seemed. They asked them to form impressions of a candidate based solely on their Facebook page. This involved looking at what was publicly available on those pages (photos, status updates, and conversations with friends) and then assigning each person a score for a number of qualities important to being a good employee, such as their degree of emotionally stability, conscientiousness, extroversion, intellectual curiosity and agreeableness. (In other words, will they flip out on you, care about completing tasks, be fun to work with, be creative in problem solving, and be willing to kiss up when necessary?) Next, the researchers got in touch with their guinea pigs’ employers to ask about their job performances. The researchers found a strong correlation between those employers’ reviews and the employability predictions they had made based on folks’ profile pages.
![Picture](/uploads/4/4/8/8/44881767/1313040.jpg?202)
Kluemper vaguely stated about “personality red flags” that their reviewers looked for. A person with obvious mood swings, who is overly emotional in their postings would not be an attractive candidate. Meanwhile, a person with a lot of Facebook friends who takes a lot of crazy photos would be rated as extroverted and friendly — which are attractive qualities in a candidate. Key takeaway for hiring employers: The Facebook page is the first interview; if you don’t like a person there, you probably won’t like working with them. The bad news for employers, though, who are hoping to take the Facebook shortcut: Many profiles are restricted in what the public can access.
In Kluemper's second study, the researchers did a similar assessment of students’ Facebook selves and also had the students take personality and IQ tests. Then, instead of following up with employers, they turned to students’ transcripts. They were able to better predict a student’s academic success based on their Facebook page than on the cognitive tests.
Of course, there are some legal questions to think about before jumping into someone’s Facebook page. Employers can discriminate against potential employees who seem like bummers based on their Wall postings and interests, but will get into trouble if what the Facebook user has said about their religious views affects the hiring process. A Facebook executive has even cautioned that if an employer discovers on Facebook that a job applicant is a member of a protected group for anti-discrimination purposes, the employer might be vulnerable to claims of discrimination if it doesn't ultimately hire that person.
Facebook pages often reveal race, religion, ethnic background, sexual orientation, marital status, and age. Yet there are laws prohibits employers from discriminating based on gender, race, and religion; and state and local laws protect employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation, political affiliation, and even, in some cases, appearance.
So, this can lead to discrimination claims. For example, your posts or page might reveal your ethnicity, disclose that you are pregnant, or espouse your political or religious views. This type of information is off limits in the hiring process, and an employer who discovers it online and uses it as a basis for hiring decisions could face a discrimination lawsuit.
Applicants are protected by privacy laws. If you have publicly posted information about yourself (purposefully or otherwise) without bothering to restrict who can view it, you will have a difficult time arguing that it was private. An employer is free to view this information (although it may not be able to use it in the hiring process, as explained above).
However, employers who check applicants out online run a number of legal risks. First off, an employer who looks at an applicant’s Facebook page or other social media posts could well learn information that it isn’t entitled to have – or to consider during the hiring process. , however, you take steps to limit who can see your posts, the privacy equation shifts. A couple of courts have found against employers that have accessed private websites or pages by misappropriating employee names and passwords; in both cases, employees had set up a restricted online space to vent about the company.
In response to publicity about employers pressuring job applicants to give up their Facebook passwords, there has been discussions considering legislation to ban this practice. Parts of the US have passed a law prohibiting employers from requesting or requiring passwords to social media sites. Facebook has weighed in to make soliciting passwords a violation of the site's code of conduct. And, the US federal government is currently investigating whether practices like these violate federal discrimination and privacy laws.
It would be impossible for all job applicants to sanitize their Facebook pages in a way that would make them employer-proof in terms of potential discrimination, and unfair to ask them to do so. So, if you are about to embark on a job search, clean up your online act. Just remember, with cached sites and historical searches, you really can’t entirely undo your past posts. But take a close look at your publicly accessible information. If you have information or material you want to leave up but don’t want employers to see, at least put it behind a privacy wall. Untag yourself in any photos that you don’t want potential employers to stumble across. If you've left an unfortunate digital trail, be ready with an explanation. Even if you are able to take down your original indiscreet post, it may have been reproduced or quoted elsewhere, others may have commented on it, or it may simply live on forever in the digital wayback machine. In this situation, the best you can do is try to minimize the chances an employer will find it and have an explanation (of your youthful indiscretions and your changed ways, for example) queued up if you need it.
Naturally it goes without saying, if you don't want people to see it, don't post it. Period. Learning how to manage your online image — making good decisions about what to share and who to “friend” — undoubtedly plays a role in your career growth.
In Kluemper's second study, the researchers did a similar assessment of students’ Facebook selves and also had the students take personality and IQ tests. Then, instead of following up with employers, they turned to students’ transcripts. They were able to better predict a student’s academic success based on their Facebook page than on the cognitive tests.
Of course, there are some legal questions to think about before jumping into someone’s Facebook page. Employers can discriminate against potential employees who seem like bummers based on their Wall postings and interests, but will get into trouble if what the Facebook user has said about their religious views affects the hiring process. A Facebook executive has even cautioned that if an employer discovers on Facebook that a job applicant is a member of a protected group for anti-discrimination purposes, the employer might be vulnerable to claims of discrimination if it doesn't ultimately hire that person.
Facebook pages often reveal race, religion, ethnic background, sexual orientation, marital status, and age. Yet there are laws prohibits employers from discriminating based on gender, race, and religion; and state and local laws protect employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation, political affiliation, and even, in some cases, appearance.
So, this can lead to discrimination claims. For example, your posts or page might reveal your ethnicity, disclose that you are pregnant, or espouse your political or religious views. This type of information is off limits in the hiring process, and an employer who discovers it online and uses it as a basis for hiring decisions could face a discrimination lawsuit.
Applicants are protected by privacy laws. If you have publicly posted information about yourself (purposefully or otherwise) without bothering to restrict who can view it, you will have a difficult time arguing that it was private. An employer is free to view this information (although it may not be able to use it in the hiring process, as explained above).
However, employers who check applicants out online run a number of legal risks. First off, an employer who looks at an applicant’s Facebook page or other social media posts could well learn information that it isn’t entitled to have – or to consider during the hiring process. , however, you take steps to limit who can see your posts, the privacy equation shifts. A couple of courts have found against employers that have accessed private websites or pages by misappropriating employee names and passwords; in both cases, employees had set up a restricted online space to vent about the company.
In response to publicity about employers pressuring job applicants to give up their Facebook passwords, there has been discussions considering legislation to ban this practice. Parts of the US have passed a law prohibiting employers from requesting or requiring passwords to social media sites. Facebook has weighed in to make soliciting passwords a violation of the site's code of conduct. And, the US federal government is currently investigating whether practices like these violate federal discrimination and privacy laws.
It would be impossible for all job applicants to sanitize their Facebook pages in a way that would make them employer-proof in terms of potential discrimination, and unfair to ask them to do so. So, if you are about to embark on a job search, clean up your online act. Just remember, with cached sites and historical searches, you really can’t entirely undo your past posts. But take a close look at your publicly accessible information. If you have information or material you want to leave up but don’t want employers to see, at least put it behind a privacy wall. Untag yourself in any photos that you don’t want potential employers to stumble across. If you've left an unfortunate digital trail, be ready with an explanation. Even if you are able to take down your original indiscreet post, it may have been reproduced or quoted elsewhere, others may have commented on it, or it may simply live on forever in the digital wayback machine. In this situation, the best you can do is try to minimize the chances an employer will find it and have an explanation (of your youthful indiscretions and your changed ways, for example) queued up if you need it.
Naturally it goes without saying, if you don't want people to see it, don't post it. Period. Learning how to manage your online image — making good decisions about what to share and who to “friend” — undoubtedly plays a role in your career growth.
- If an employer asks for information you deem personal — outside of reference and background checks — ask for clarification and convey your sense of discomfort with asking such information. You have the right to decline not only from a personal perspective and because you may be violating Facebook terms of service by complying.
- Be careful who you “friend” on social networking sites, and that includes your colleagues or employer. While you may receive numerous invitations and requests, use good judgment when accepting offers.
- Change your privacy settings and keep them updated.
- Employers can find enough information to make good hiring decisions using traditional background-check sources. While character is an important part of an overall impression, judging whether or not you will make a good employee based on a couple of photos online is a slippery slope.
- Weigh the pros and cons of accepting a job if an employer asks for such access, even if you really need a job. Their request can give you a glimpse of the company culture. Some fields will need more security checks than others, and that’s to be expected. It’s the request outside the norm that should raise a red flag for you as a job candidate.
- In general, be careful what you post online. Stop and think how each item could affect your career goals.
- More importantly, it’s the crossing of the boundaries you need to keep in mind as a future employee.
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On the flip side, in Pietrylo, two employees created a MySpace page for the purpose of airing grievances against their employer in a more secure environment that was password-protected, and invited other employees—but not managers—to join. Two managers learned of the site and requested a password from an employee. Eventually, the employee gave them her login information. The managers logged on to the site on several occasions and then fired the website’s creators for violating the restaurant’s policies and hurting employee morale. The central issue at trial was whether the employee was coerced into giving the managers her log-in ID and password information to permit them to enter the site. In light of the employee’s testimony, the court found that the jury had reasonably concluded that the managers had not been authorized to enter the site, and thus refused to overturn the verdict.
Facebook’s Response
Social networking has become a way of life for many, and it has shifted the way people interact. In the past, the boundaries between what was personal and what was work-related were clear. A recent article about employers who ask for Facebook passwords gives the impression those boundaries have become blurred. It makes you stop and ask what is considered personal in today’s online world?
Facebook is the largest of all social networking sites with its 845 million users, and due to the sheer volume of communication it’s no wonder employers would see this as a good way to generate more information on potential job candidates or employees. Facebook warned employers not to ask job applicants for their Facebook passwords in order to poke around on their profiles. Indeed, Facebook threatened legal action against applications that violate its longstanding policy against sharing passwords.
Erin Egan, Facebook’s Director of Privacy, said that the practice “undermines the privacy expectations and the security” of the user and his Facebook friends. Facebook users should never have to share their passwords with anyone else. Not sharing passwords is a basic tenet of online conduct. Aside from privacy concerns, Facebook also considers the practice a security risk. Once you have given out your password, how can you ensure that the person who views your page does not use it to commit identity theft or to impersonate you?
Facebook is the largest of all social networking sites with its 845 million users, and due to the sheer volume of communication it’s no wonder employers would see this as a good way to generate more information on potential job candidates or employees. Facebook warned employers not to ask job applicants for their Facebook passwords in order to poke around on their profiles. Indeed, Facebook threatened legal action against applications that violate its longstanding policy against sharing passwords.
Erin Egan, Facebook’s Director of Privacy, said that the practice “undermines the privacy expectations and the security” of the user and his Facebook friends. Facebook users should never have to share their passwords with anyone else. Not sharing passwords is a basic tenet of online conduct. Aside from privacy concerns, Facebook also considers the practice a security risk. Once you have given out your password, how can you ensure that the person who views your page does not use it to commit identity theft or to impersonate you?