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More Warnings Against Oversharing on MySpace

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the internet-never-forgets dept.

Skapare writes "Your next prospective employer might be watching your MySpace page, according to a story at the New York Times. And if you think Facebook is more private, maybe not if that prospective employer has an intern from the same school checking up on you." From the article: "Students may not know when they have been passed up for an interview or a job offer because of something a recruiter saw on the Internet. But more than a dozen college career counselors said recruiters had been telling them since last fall about incidents in which students' online writing or photographs had raised serious questions about their judgment, eliminating them as job candidates."

6 of 383 comments (clear)

  1. It's as much the employer's loss here by plasmacutter · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There are many highly qualified and intelligent people here (it's a top 20 university) with very vapid social lives.

    these employers using google and myspace to research their prospective employees may as well be basing their decisions on the bible or the magic 8 ball.

    There are many people who can quickly switch personalities to a work mode, many of the most intelligent are also the most eccentric as well. Passing people up because of eccentricity, quirks, or political views will harm employers in the end.

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    1. Re:It's as much the employer's loss here by Umbral+Blot · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You know intelligence isn't everything when hiring. People with vapid social lives may be generally annoying to their co-workers, and thus actually be a hindrance to a group effort.

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      Philosophy.
    2. Re:It's as much the employer's loss here by ejdmoo · · Score: 5, Insightful
      There are many highly qualified and intelligent people here (it's a top 20 university) with very vapid social lives.

      They aren't very intelligent if they post about it publicly online.
    3. Re:It's as much the employer's loss here by GreatBunzinni · · Score: 5, Insightful
      There are many people who can quickly switch personalities to a work mode, many of the most intelligent are also the most eccentric as well. Passing people up because of eccentricity, quirks, or political views will harm employers in the end.

      Yet, the damaging information about those people, information that they personally posted, is out there for anyone to access. This time the bosses happen to access them but what about the prospective clients and business partners? Independently of that person's competence and professional attitude, what damage can a public profile like that bring to a company?

      As I see it this has a lot in common with politics. What does it matter if a political candidate smoked pot or even if he's into S&M? Isn't his competence the only thing that matters? Yet, when the public learns about those details the would-be politician is automatically done for, even if the voters or political opponents do as bad or even worse than him. It's all about public image and if someone is involved in socially questionable things and if that information passes to that person's professional environment and life, then obviously it will have an impact.

      Oh and let's not forget that the person in question bragged about doing drugs, which not only is considered ilegal in a lot of countries but it can also, at least to some extent, be a liability.

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    4. Re:It's as much the employer's loss here by plasmacutter · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yet, the damaging information about those people, information that they personally posted, is out there for anyone to access. This time the bosses happen to access them but what about the prospective clients and business partners?

      I refer you further up in this story to the post from the guy who happens to have a shared name, age, and major with someone else.

      In truth, when you google someone's name or search for it on myspace there is no guarantee it's the same person.. you may as well be shaking your magic 8 ball: "is this employee responsible and cordial?"? "ask again later"

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    5. Re:It's as much the employer's loss here by xstonedogx · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Amazingly enough there is something known as anonymity on the internet. In other words you make sure it's not easy to find your blog using whatever info you provide to your employer.

      I've always view these types of things as great filters, removing the people from my life that I would not want to associate with anyway. Don't like me because I'm funny/had purple hair when I was younger/listen to Dream Theater/love Sushi/am left handed/have OMG, political views/get drunk once in a while/whatever? Oh well, have a nice life.

      Who really cares what they find out about me? I don't apologize for having freedom and using it; and I accept the consequences of the same. I don't want to associate with people (including employers) who would first hunt down that information and second use it to discriminate against me in some way. With friends/employers like that, who needs enemies?

      (And ya, I realize the irony in posting this as a more or less anonymous identity, but this is /. afterall.) :)