Recruiters shouldn’t care about that Facebook picture of your beer pong game in college
It’s becoming a litany.
In a meeting or during a presentation, somebody—usually an HR rep or recruiter—will tell me how many candidates she has rejected based on something she saw on the candidate’s Facebook or MySpace profile. In every case, it has been something along the lines of a photo taken during a party at college. My response: “If your employer knew what you did during college, would you have been hired?”
College is for two things: Getting an education and being stupid. The only difference between college when I went and college today is that there was no Facebook, or anything remotely like it, during my days at university.
Today, we’re living through one of the most remarkable transitions in history. We’re moving from an era during which people were secretive and kept things close to the vest to an era where everyone is networked and everyone shares everything. And those who grew up in the soon-to-be bygone era are making hiring decisions about people who grew up in the era that is hurtling toward us like an out-of-control freight train.
It has become conventional wisdom for people of my generation to wag their fingers at millenials, warning them of the dangers that await if they’re too open with their extracurricular activities. Even Dan Tapscott, whose “Grown Up Digital” does an admirable job of explaining the Net Generation, insists that the one thing they don’t get is that sharing outrageous behavior today will come back to bite them in the ass a few years down the road when they’re trying to get hired.
That’s true today, with people who kept their late-night fraternity-house drinking binges on the QT. It won’t be so long, though, before the hiring managers have shared just as much of their social lives online as the recruits they’re looking to hire. The fact that people got drunk and engagred in questionable behavior in school just won’t matter.
Consequently, that Animal House behavior really shouldn’t matter to hiring managers today. Like I say, the hiring manager probably engaged in some pretty stupid behavior of his own when he was in college, too. The fact that he did shots off a co-ed’s belly when he was 19 didn’t make him a bad hire when he was 23.
Back in 1987, Judge Douglas Ginsburg didn’t make it onto the U.S. Supreme Court because he’d smoked a little pot when he was in college. Today, denying a job to anybody who ever tried marijuana in college carves a huge slice out of the pool of prospective candidates. A prospect’s social behavior in college is simply not a predictor of their value as an employee.
Recruiters and HR people can even eek out a competitive edge by overlooking a four-year-old picture on a Facebook page and focusing on their qualifications today. After all, that’s what today’s candidates will be doing in five years when they’re the ones making the hiring decisions.
Here’s my take—I do the hiring for our firm. I want the up and comers that I am interviewing to have had a life while in college. I expect that they’ve done some crazy things, heck we all did. But if it is a choice between posting and not posting, I’d suggest not posting. You’re right, we shouldn’t care but the truth is, most hiring managers will and why risk it?
Posted by Abbie S. Fink on 10/26 at 06:57 PMThe social networking behaviour should not be mixed with professional etiquettes. College life had it’s own charm. It is better not to take the risk.
Posted by dropship reviews on 10/26 at 10:16 PMShel, you are absolutely right. Kids these days not only have the capability to share so much more, they have a completely different attitude to it as well. They live more of their lives on-line and at college that means doing some ‘dumb stuff - and others get to see it.
Frankly, hirers should be suspicious of someone who they can’t find on-line. It either means the person did some REALLY bad stuff, or they were completely isolated.Posted by Neil Chapman on 10/27 at 02:08 AMShel…
You should probably show the HR folks this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5-SQL3vOFk&feature=player_embedded
I"m sure some of them are in the video.
Posted by Jay on 10/27 at 04:02 AMI’m going to take a different tack to this. Laying the issue of morality aside, you still have the information security issue. If a person is stupid enough to post images of him/herself (or friends, or enemies) in a compromising position of any kind, what else is he/she stupid enough to post online?
The vast majority of stupid activities taking place online happen because people “just didn’t think about it.” They get caught up in the heat of the moment, they blow off steam, they don’t believe the information will catch on to anyone important. They really have no concept of who is watching and listening, or what the repercussions can be.
Today a drunken party photo, tomorrow an inadvertent aid to the competition. Recruiters may choose not to exclude prospects from consideration, but they (and employers as a whole) also need to be able to lay down the law on what is expected and required post-employment.
Posted by Christa M. Miller on 10/27 at 05:08 AMIn general, I agree with you, but also would consider what I feel are “degrees of dumb behavior.” Pictures of students drinking—no problem, really. But what of disclosures that do demonstrate a more fundamental problem with an applicant’s character? I’m thinking specifically of the kid who got caught lying, telling his employer that he had a death in the family (to get off of work) when in fact he wanted to attend a Halloween Party. Lying, bragging about plagiarizing reports, putting false information on a resume that is contradicted by what is on a FB profile, etc. to me, at least, would be sufficient grounds to scuttle a prospective hire.
Of course, in these cases, I’m not advocating that they sanitize their profiles, far from it. It could be a useful tool—so post away.
In short, it comes down to using reasonable judgment on the part of HR.
Posted by Jen Zingsheim on 10/27 at 05:24 AM@christa, there are two issues here. First, I’m talking about college experiences. If somebody posts a photo taken at the company holiday party, that’s another issue altogether. The fact that you posted pictures in college does not by any stretch of the imagination mean you’ll cause reputational issues for your organization years later when you’re in the workforce.
Again, I don’t believe anybody’s college antics predict the contribution they can make once they leave their youth behind and assume professional responsibilities. If you polled top performers in most organizations, you’d probably find a large percentage of them did crazy stuff in college.
My key point, however, is that open sharing of one’s life is becoming the norm among millennials, and is going to be common among recruiters and candidates alike in fairly short order.
Posted by Shel on 10/27 at 05:28 AMShel, I was talking about recent college grads, the ones who don’t yet have the experience to know when to think twice—because, as you say, they are so used to open sharing. They have not been particularly well educated on what not to do and say; organizations are only just beginning to do that, at least from what I can tell.
Posted by Christa M. Miller on 10/27 at 05:40 AMAs a PR student who will soon be graduating, I keep a close eye on what is posted on my Facebook. If my friend’s say something stupid or tag me to a photo I don’t like, I remove it.
While I try to be very transparent, I also feel there are things I need to keep private. I try to show my personality without showing too much. It’s a fine line.
I don’t have strict privacy settings on my Facebook because I honestly have nothing to hide and I’d like recruiters to be able to see that.
Posted by Rachel Esterline on 10/27 at 05:42 AMGreat article and I think you’re spot on this with. As Douglas Adams said:
‘Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things.’
I’ve seen some friends of mine delete their facebook accounts due to having sensitive high profile jobs but suspect that trend will be shortlived.
Posted by Gareth on 10/27 at 08:46 AMSorry; Things have changed. Times have changed. You (the public) can’t change that. And, prejudice still exists..can’t change that either. Therefore; Junior High and High School students take note: Take responsibility for what you do. Because even if YOU don’t post it… someone else might and tag it with your name. Employers will see it and… you will be judged. Not my rule. Just human nature. And that hasn’t changed.
It’s not our fault or your fault. Blame big Al. After all, he “invented” the internet. *wink*
Posted by medxcentral (Jim) on 10/27 at 08:46 AMShel,
So glad to hear someone who isn’t a millenial take on this position. This debate has gone one way as long as I’ve seen it. “True, we shouldn’t care, but still, they probably shouldn’t post those pictures”
I couldn’t disagree more. In an era when transparency flourishes and professionals are starting to look human again, students shouldn’t have to worry about not getting a job, because they put up a picture of themselves doing the same thing that the people hiring them did when they were in college.
It’s completely hypocritical of HR professionals to say, true I did the same thing, but because they have a picture of it, we won’t hire them.
I think HR is just caught in a generational gap. Whether or not today’s HR professionals continue to make decisions like this, tomorrow’s professionals WILL be different. When the millenials are the ones doing the hiring, they will hold candidates to a new standard, where college drinking pictures on facebook are accepted as a “norm”.
Everyone my age, and younger have their entire lives featured online for anyone to see. This will, inevitably, change the mentality around the “professional image” and hiring requirements.
Remember, we’re all human and share similar experiences in our life…and now technology is helping us to see how similar our experiences really are.
Sidenote: Sorry I didn’t get to meet you at blogworld. Hopefully I can catch you at the next event.
David Spinks
Posted by David Spinks on 10/27 at 09:02 AMShel, you make some good points, but I wonder if the issue might be more of timing. Posting stupid stuff on Facebook from college days may not be as big a deal for someone who’s been out for a while compared to someone who is a recent grad. I think it is not a matter of if but when HR goes looking for questionable behavior so it is probably best to pause before posting.
- @vedo
Posted by Richie Escovedo on 10/27 at 09:25 AMShel,
While I agree with your point of view in theory, I don’t believe it is realistic to think that recruiters are not going to research who you are online and forming opinions based on what they uncover. The double-edged sword of social media. Publish at your own peril with regard to your personal reputation.
It is a great topic of conversation, especially in my business. Making people feel more comfortable sharing their lives online is a challenge with the X and Boomer generations. I am on the leading edge of X at 40 and it is challenging for me, but I understand the value of the media for my professional life. I still struggle to find the right balance though, as I’m sure may people do. Thank goodness, no digital media back in late 80’s early 90’s! ha.
Matt Gentile, Dir. of PR
Century 21 Real EstatePosted by Matt Gentile on 10/27 at 09:46 AMThrowing out candidates based on research into their personal lives may as well be called “The Story of How You Crossed Ethical Boundaries and Delivered Skilled Employees to The Competition.”
Perhaps we should attribute it to ignorance rather than malice. I’m uncomfortable, though, with unethical hiring decisions being 100% excused because it was the trend at the time. Is responsibility dead?
Posted by Dave on 10/27 at 10:24 AMI would suggest that maybe those people don’t want to work at a company that thinks their employees should just be drones and not have a life outside of work.
HR managers tend to be lazy and they love being able to say ‘he had a picture of him drinking a beer on FaceBook’. Saves them doing the actual work of vetting someone to see if he could do the job.
Posted by JB on 10/27 at 12:50 PM@matt (and others), just as a side note, if you research candidates on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, or any other network without disclosing to them that you’ll be doing so, you’re violating the law and could be subject to lawsuits and fines. Just as you are legally required to disclose the fact that you’ll conduct a background or credit check, you MUST disclose that you’ll be looking at their social network profiles. (This is a U.S. law, by the way; I don’t now about other countries.) The following PDF goes into some detail, but its title says it all: “Social Networks and Employment Law: Are you Putting your Organization at Risk?” Social Networks and Employment Law: Are you Putting your Organization at Risk?” http://www.iowaabi.org/documents/filelibrary/events/social_media/Social_Networks_Employment_Law_eBoo_C3A386C1048E1.pdf
Posted by Shel on 10/27 at 02:47 PMShel, you make an excellent point about researching candidates and employment law. However, there is also the industry “rumor mill” for applicants to consider—some industries are friends among rivals and word travels quickly on potentially unsuitable candidates. So only one firm needs to disclose that they search these profiles (within the boundaries of the law) to effectively ruin the prospects of a candidate (I am thinking here of Jeffrey Chiang…).
It is troubling, yes. And should HR be doing this? Probably not. But, it’s best for students to realize that it can, and does, happen.
Again, interesting and thought-provoking post.
Posted by Jen Zingsheim on 10/27 at 03:43 PMThis was a very interesting discussion to follow. A few things that jumped out at me from the varied comments:
-Interesting that some here who object to being judged based on the social media information they share, are just as quick to judge HR Managers as “lazy”. I’m sure there are some lazy HR managers, but if you want to get tolerance and open-mindedness, you should be prepared to offer it in return.
-In terms of Shel’s info that it’s against the law to review someone’s social media profiles without telling them you will, I wonder if things are done differently in the US [I’m in Canada]. Here, you almost never get a detailed reason for why you weren’t hired for a job, if you get a reason at all, so I’m not sure how a candidate would ever know that a recruiter had reviewed their pages and what impact, if any that had on their not getting a job.
-I think it’s probably true that in 8-10 years, a silly, drunken photo on FB will no longer be a big deal. But as others have said, for now, while we’re still in the transition phase, why risk it? Either make your social media profiles private, or be thoughtful about what you put on them, especially if you are job-hunting. That just seems like a common-sense thing to me.
Posted by Kristen Ridley on 10/27 at 06:14 PMI disagree with this on a number of fronts. The biggest objection I have is the fundamental question of judgment. In our business, solid judgment and trust is a key attribute for success. I am uncomfortable assuming a nonlinear progression to good judgment when someone has actually proven they don’t always have it. Posting a compromising photo of yourself on Facebook or anywhere online is not just poor judgment, it would make me question their common sense. Yes, most of us did crazy things in college, but we weren’t dumb enough to document them.
Posted by Jim on 10/28 at 06:09 AMI am so glad this blog has been written because this is something that students now think about when applying for a job. As a public relations student I’ve been told over and over again that employers will look at my facebook account and will judge me on what they see. As I’m approaching graduation I have started to delete photos I believe might tarnish my reputation or might be the deciding factor on whether I get the job or not. My beliefs on this topic is irrelevant because in the end its not me that makes the decision. I can sit here and say that I disagree with it all because even though I’ve danced on a bar or even funneled a beer I still work very hard and excel in my work environment. But again it doesn’t matter what I think. When I’m put in the position of hiring someone then my opinion about this will matter but till then I have to respect what employers want and if they don’t want to see me drinking a beer on facebook that’s exactly what I’m going to give them. This is my future and if taking a picture can change that it’s definitely not worth having it posted on facebook. Its easy to post them and its easy to take them off. Either way it doesn’t matter to me. Showing professionalism is essential and in order to keep a professional appearance taking off your pictures with short skirts and gin and tonics might be a good idea.
Posted by Sara on 10/28 at 06:44 AMOk ... old fart alert here. WHAT THE HECK? If I see bad behavior on Facebook, I will assume that bad behavior is going to be a potential problem. Everyone exhibits poor judgment at some time. The problem is when you brag to the world about your poor judgment in a public forum. What’s next? “Hey friends on Facebook. Did you know that I just helped my company lose a million bucks. Oops. Hope my boss doesn’t see this”. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Now, back to my rocking chair.
Posted by Beth on 10/28 at 07:02 AMShel,
I am so glad you addressed this issue.
While transparency is important, I feel authenticity is key, especially during the job search. College was a time when we tested our limits and learned from our mistakes. Without these experiences, the candidate sitting in front of hiring managers would not have grown and matured into the professional they see today. Acknowledgement of the past, in the form of social profile content, provides a more indepth look at individuals. Candidates are more than just words on a resume, and social profiles help to portray their personality.
I appreciate your non-Gen-Y perspective and love all the commentary. Thank you for a great post.
-Gwynne Murphy
Posted by Gwynne Murphy on 10/28 at 07:53 AM@beth, @jim, @christa and several others: The word that keeps coming up in the objections to this post is “judgment.” And that’s precisely my point: Most millennials don’t perceive sharing pictures of partying as bad judgment. Getting stupid drunk and then getting behind the wheel of a car would be another matter. I doubt anybody here would describe partying and drinking as bad judgment—only sharing the photos.
The oldest millenials are over 30. They’re moving into management jobs. Increasingly, management (including recruiters!) will not view these photos as “bad judgment.” If we’re interested in hiring the best workers, I suggest we focus on qualifications, passion for the work, presentation at the interview, quality of work samples, and other REAL predictors of the candidate’s potential as an employee, and stop assigning so much value to the fact that Gen-Yers don’t have a problem with sharing their lives with their networks.
I disagree strongly with Christa that someone who would share these photos would also be inclined to share confidential company information. That’s a leap of logic that simply eludes me. The Net-Gen ethic of sharing your life online does not automatically extend to violating company policy or violating business ethics. To assume they would is faulty logic.
Posted by Shel Holtz on 10/28 at 07:59 AMShel,
In your last comment you said: “The oldest millenials are over 30. They’re moving into management jobs. Increasingly, management (including recruiters!) will not view these photos as “bad judgment.”
I hear variations on this view quite at bit right now with the addition of larger numbers of millenials into the job force, and moving up the ladder to more responsible positions.
You may be right that they will continue to keep their “youthful” views about what is acceptable and will change the dynamic of acceptable behaviour.
But I think it’s just as likely that as these individuals get older and get mortgages, kids, and the other trappings of adulthood that they may become more conservative and less accepting of what today is considered “unprofessional”. We’ve seen this happen in nearly every generation, particularly once one has children. “Do as I say, not as I’ve done!”
It will be interesting to look back on this debate in 5-8 years to see how this has played out, and if drunken Facebook photos really are no big deal and have no impact on employability in the future.
Shel is usually right about anything social media related, so I certainly wouldn’t bet against him on this, but I have to admit to some skepticism based on historial realities of situations like this.
Posted by Kristen Ridley on 10/28 at 08:15 AMUltimately, I feel that any company not willing to hire me because of pictures of me drinking is a company I don’t want to work for. I have privacy settings and whatnot, but if someone happens to find something (regardless of those privacy settings) and can honestly tell me, “I don’t want to use your expertise for my benefit because you were in a co-ed fraternity and drank a lot,” I say to them, “You’re idiots.”
End of story.
I agree with the fact that some things should be hidden. (Hell, no one would trust someone who would willingly post a picture with the caption, “And HE ended up being my one night stand! OOPS!”) But drinking isn’t illegal (for those 21+) or immoral (I know, that’s my own opinion), and therefore shouldn’t be an issue.
There are obvious exceptions to the rule. I know a lot of wanna be teachers who have had problems with this issue, but the fact is that if they were to become teachers, students would likely look them up and be swayed by their behavior. However, as long as proper privacy settings are in place, I see no harm.
Posted by Alicia on 10/28 at 08:17 AMShel, I am all for people sharing their lives. Really, I am. In fact, I do. And, I have no problem with people who party ... responsibly. I also believe that sharing the photos shows the bad judgment. In a communications role in a corporation, you just can’t show bad communications judgment. Senior Leaders just won’t accept it.
Posted by Beth on 10/28 at 08:18 AMAt a minimum I think it is bad judgment to display compromising photos on a Facebook page or anywhere else that’s potentially public. But I’ll take it a step further, I also think it is stupid. Why would I want to hire someone I perceive as stupid?
Posted by Pat on 10/28 at 08:40 AM@kristen, the issue isn’t what’s youthful or unprofessional. This generation doesn’t draw the sharp distinction we do between their work lives and their personal lives. The fact that they share their personal lives does not mean they will behave that way at work, but they see no reason to pretend that they don’t have personal lives in order to create some kind of fictitious persona for work. It surprises me that so few people from GenX and the Boomer generations have made an effort to understand the fundamental, foundational difference in perspective of those who have (as Tapscott puts it) grown up digital.
@Beth, Gen-Yers will BE the leaders in relatively short order. Mark Zuckerberg already is. Again, the fundamental disconnect is that Boomers see sharing the photos as bad judgment and Y-ers don’t. And there will be more Y-ers than Boomers as of next year. Of course, I’m talking about partying here, not posting a picture of yourself holding up a liquor store, shooting up grade-A heroin, or driving while intoxicated. And in thse cases, it’s not posting the picture that’s bad judgment (although it is); it’s the behavior itself. So if the behavior of partying is something everybody knows that other people do (including 60-year-old CEOs), why is posting a picture of it bad behavior? This is the basic disconnect between our generation and the Net Generation—the one that is about to become the majority.
@Pat, by all means, don’t hire them. Let your competition scoop them up and beat the crap out of your company. Read Alicia’s comment above. Of course, she wouldn’t work for you anyway.
Posted by Shel on 10/28 at 08:49 AMI have no problem with young employees doing stupid things in college (who didn’t?) but I do have a problem with them publicizing it. Primarily because in our jobs we should be presenting our true selves, but the best version of ourselves. And I agree with others that flaunting drunken photos shows a lack of judgment.
I seriously hope that, as our lives become more and more social online, instead of employers accepting that posting inappropriate behavior be the norm, employees begin to think more about their action and reputation. Maybe spend more times on some social media platforms for young professionals and learning from others in their careers instead of posting old embarrassing pics for the world to see.
Of course I do understand that what is appropriate differs by industry. A parent trying to teach a teenager about responsible use of alcohol does not want to see (or for their child to see)photos of the teacher’s wild college days. A disk jockey clearly wouldn’t face the same concerns.
Posted by KarrieSue on 10/28 at 08:49 AMThe problem, KarrieSue and others, is that I don’t see sharing pictures of myself having a good time as being inappropriate or embarrassing.
People have been drinking and socializing outside of work since before Facebook came along. Has this affected their work? No, or at least not as long as they handle the situation responsibly and don’t come into work drunk or hungover.
Have you ever heard “Don’t judge a book by its cover”? The same applies here. Just because you see a few snapshots of a person’s life does not mean you know how they will behave in a professional environment.
I sure wouldn’t want to work for your company. Sounds like you all have absolutely nothing interesting to talk about with your coworkers.
Posted by Jessica on 10/28 at 10:21 AMSomething else I haven’t seen anyone mention is the HUGE difference between “drinking and socializing/having a good time”—and the drunken, amnesiac binges I remember a number of classmates having. I always wondered what was up with that. Were they so unhappy, or did they simply care so little about their own and others’ lives that they felt OK about being reckless?
The dark side of “drinking and socializing” is vandalism, rape, DUI, and other things I personally remember my peers talking (in some cases bragging) about. In fact, the first time I attended a real drinking party—where the people nursed their alcohol and the conversation flowed—I wondered why the hell my other peers thought a party had to be about excess?
And as a Gen X’er I don’t happen to believe that the onus should be on employers to determine between the two. If a recruiter sees you “having a good time” it’s all too easy to wonder what went on after that picture was taken.
Posted by Christa M. Miller on 10/28 at 10:44 AMI think the point is that social networking is taking away the ability for us to have “personal” and “professional” lives ... unless you don’t have any friends at work, that is. Even then, you never know who you’ll run into at the next party you attend or the next night on the town. A few things to ponder as I read these comments:
1) I had my fair share of fun in college, and while I post pictures to my facebook page, I’m not the only one posting pictures of me. Just because there is a photo I’m tagged in doesn’t mean I posted it. And while I could untag myself, there’s no stopping somsone from tagging me again. How are you sure there aren’t pictures of you just because you didn’t put them there?
2) I am curious where hiring managers got this myth that its only the college aged kids and recent grads that partake in so-called “bad” behavior. Last I checked, the folks bellying up to the bar for hours at hotels aren’t the low paid young employees - they are your VPs, your CEOs, and your highly paid managers. So how can you question the risky behavior when your leadership is partaking as well? Just because they act polished at work doesn’t mean they don’t relax and have fun afterward.
3) It seems to me that there are far greater things to be concerned with if you are hiring someone, such as their education, work quality, and previous work experience. If you seriously turn down a well-qualified candidate because he likes to party on the weekends and share pictures with his friends (yes friends - not facebook stalkers who don’t really know the person), then your company has much bigger problems.
Posted by Liz on 10/28 at 10:53 AMHow do you acquire good judgment?
Experience.
How do you get experience?
Bad judgment.
Corporate stiffs, lighten up.
Posted by David Murray on 10/28 at 12:16 PM@christa, have you followed up with any of those binging peers? How many are in jail or dead-end, low-paying jobs, and how many are successful? I knew people in college who loved to do binge-drinking, too (back in the early 70s), and most of them are doing just fine in the workplace.
You’re right, it’s not your job to determine whether someone who parties heavily is a rapist. I think it’s outrageous, though, to assume it’s that someone whose Facebook photos show them drinking—even binge drinking—is more likely to be a vandal or rapist. And, like I say, I would NEVER hire someone who shared a picture of him or herself driving drunk That IS bad behavior.
What IS a recruiter’s job is picking great candidates to help the organization achieve its goals. If a candidate fits the bill in all other dimensions and gets rejected because of a party picture on Facebook, it’s my opinion that the recruiter is not doing his or her job very well at all.
Posted by Shel on 10/28 at 12:50 PMFrankly Shel, no I haven’t followed up with them, because I didn’t like hanging around with them to begin with. If that makes me a goody two shoes, so be it. I knew plenty of other classmates who worked too hard, both academically and in jobs, who just had no time for that crap. They were the ones whose company I far preferred.
And with that said I guess I would hope recruiters would want to choose from the latter group too.
Posted by Christa M. Miller on 10/28 at 02:12 PMAs a PR student myself, one of the first things we were taught was to think about the ‘Brand of Me’. We checked what information was available when googling our own names. Your online profile must only project good things to empolyers and I agree that if you want to be considered in a professional manner it is a small sacrifice not to include incriminating photos of yourself on facebook etc. Times have changed and we have to be aware just how much information is available at the click of a button, wether we like it or not.
Posted by Alice on 10/29 at 03:25 AM>>@christa, have you followed up with any of those binging peers? How many are in jail or dead-end, low-paying jobs, and how many are successful? I knew people in college who loved to do binge-drinking, too (back in the early 70s), and most of them are doing just fine in the workplace.<<
Shel,
I have a personl anecdote that illustrates perfectly your point. One of my fraternity brothers, Art, would have best been described back then as a general ne’er-do-well - bing drinking, skipping classes, poor grades, other questionable behavior, etc. In one memorable instance he was running around on the top of the fraternity house with a toy gun pretending to shoot people on the street which brought out the SWAT team who cordoned off a three block area, complete with police choppers circling overhead.
A couple of months ago I ran into another fraternity brother and asked if Art had every amounted to anything. He is now the COO of a multi-billion dollar chemical company, having risen through the ranks as the company’s top salesman.
Craig
Posted by Craig Jolley on 10/29 at 06:31 AMFacebook is a great tool for weeding out people with poor ethics and common sense. By looking at someone’s profile and seeing what the individual has posted of them self, you see how this person wants to be seen by others. If what they have posted is tasteless or provocative, this is not likely the kind of person you want representing your organization. HR and recruiting staff should consider things they have done in college before completely casting the applicant aside, but doing crazy things and letting them be captured on film is another story. On the other hand, if the individual has posted uncompromising pictures of some of their accomplishments and adventures it could work to their advantage; it would illustrate their accomplishments as well as give an idea of how social media savvy they are.
Posted by Nadean on 11/02 at 04:49 AMI couldn’t agree with you more. Recruiters shouldn’t base their hiring decision on a potential employee’s Facebook or MySpace pictures; however, the reality is, they can and as you discussed, they have.
In fact, a survey conducted by “Career Builder” found that 20 per cent of companies admitted to viewing candidate’s profiles on Facebook or Myspace and a further 9 per cent said they planned to start reviewing potential employee’s social networking accounts. (Employers Admit to Checking Facebook before Hiring, 2008) I’m sure if more applicants were aware of these statistics they would be a little more cautious when posting pictures.
There was a particular incident in Columbia, Missouri where an applicant’s Facebook pictures determined the fate of her job. Van Allen, president of TimeLine Recruiting, a physician recruiting firm, reviewed the applicant’s Facebook account and found several inappropriate pictures.
“Pictures of her taking off her shirt at parties,” he said. “Not just on one occasion, but on another occasion, then another occasion,” (Job candidates getting tripped up by Facebook, 2004)
Ultimately, Allen elected to hire someone else for the position.
In saying that, I believe it is the responsibility of the applicant to either delete any inappropriate pictures or change their account security settings to limit access to their pictures.
It’s easy as that, delete any inappropriate pictures or change the account security settings – problem solved. I hope more people think before they post pictures on Facebook or Myspace, especially when applying for a job.Posted by Kyle on 11/02 at 05:07 AMI agree with you 100% in this article. No company should discriminate on employment procedures just because of pictures of the applicant drinking.
As Alicia previously wrote, if a company does do this then I wouldn’t want to work for them anyway.
Posted by Andy Walpole on 11/02 at 09:06 AMShel,
You are so right. And, hiring managers are human, too. They worry about their job like anyone else. Why hire someone with a “publically” colorful past? This also points out again that “your online reputation IS the new resume’.”
tailwinds,
Posted by Robin Maiden on 11/04 at 06:28 AMInteresting when one poster talks about judgment being the key to success.
“Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgment!”
OMG a picture of someone taking their shirt off. Never mind what your qualifications are, lets worry about a silly picture on the net. Whats next, wanting to know what literature I read.
“Facebook is a great tool for weeding out people with poor ethics and common sense.” Pure tripe (I would say BS but some recruiter might find my comment) Judging a person by their facebook account is like judging a book by its cover.
I guess my facebook account will show I am open-minded, liberal, exciting, challenging and liberated instead of a dull stuff suit that pretends to be conservative. Its better I keep a professional online presence and my propensity to wear womens clothing a secret. Guess that would make me unethical.
Posted by chris on 11/28 at 09:01 PMThe part of the article which I disagree most with the author is the idea that in the future negative college prank images will be overlooked. I disagree.
Today the first layer of any HR department are 20 something associates who check out social network sites to weed applicants. They are the harshest and stupidest critics. They are the ones who bring up an applicants most negative material to hiring managers in an effort to “look good” on the job. After doing this for fifteen or twenty years, they will be promoted to positions where they will train the next generation of twenty year olds to do the same thing.
My advice to people would be to create multiple social web site accounts. Use nick names for posting “fun” information; use one’s formal name for professional matters only. And make sure the nick name can’t be easily derived from the formal name or every associate your nick name with your professional name.
Posted by Joe on 12/25 at 05:20 AMI’m not an emplyer. In fact, I’m 18. But I still have to agree that whilst drinking and having a good time is one thing, being stupid enough to post compromising pictures is quite another. Noone cares if you’ve gotten drunk at uni, but posting everything - even stuff that might come back to bite you in the ass - shows that you just don’t THINK about stuff you say and do. I know if I was an employer, I wouldn’t employ such a person
Posted by Luke on 01/18 at 07:01 AM
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