Because I personally have all my photo albums locked down to my friends only, as is my profile. Which would mean a potential employer would have to be my friend. Even people in my network who aren't my friend can't see it.
So its not really an issue if you have your privacy settings set to slightly paranoid.
Are drunk Facebook photos killing your job prospects?
Summary
Almost a third of HR and business managers in the UK check out their applicants' social networking pages. Their biggest red flag? Drunken photos and rude comments.
Topics
Who's poking around your Facebook profile? If you're looking for a new job, it could well be the HR boss considering your application.
A survey of HR and business managers in the United Kingdom has revealed almost a third (32 percent) search the Internet and check social networking Web sites to gather background and behavior information on potential recruits and existing employees.
Meanwhile, a quarter (24 percent) said they have been put off a new hire by what they found--with drunken photos and rude comments being the biggest turn-offs.
Use of Facebook et al as an informal resource on job candidates looks set to continue: of the 68 percent of business people who had not searched for data on would-be staff online, almost half (44 percent) said they are likely to do so in future.
The survey, which was commissioned by people search Web site yasni.co.uk, polled more than 950 HR people and business managers.
It's not just Facebook that can land a job-hunter in hot water: a significant proportion of Brits also appear to be willing to stretch the truth in an interview.
Research from jobs Web site Monster.co.uk has found close to a third (28 percent) of people admitted lying in a job interview and a further 14 percent said they have embellished the truth in the hopes of appearing better qualified. However more than half (58 percent) of those polled claimed never to have lied or stretched the truth to get a job.
This story was originally published on silicon.com.
Just In
Aren't you possibly in other people or group's photo albums that may contain the incriminating phtoos?
...this would mean that the potential employer would have to look through your friends photos as well. If you are the only one applying for the job, why would they more to the point, how would they know who they are?
I think in this case it would be a case of being cautious of which photos you are "tagged" in, also you can remove a tag from someone else's photos.
I see your point, however I think it is extremely unlikely to be an issue IMO. But its generally all down to how you use Facebook.
I think in this case it would be a case of being cautious of which photos you are "tagged" in, also you can remove a tag from someone else's photos.
I see your point, however I think it is extremely unlikely to be an issue IMO. But its generally all down to how you use Facebook.
You are who you hang out with.
There are a lot of things you can find out about people on myspace and facebook just by looking at their friends sites.
It doesn't take that long.
It's a good way to see someones EQ, how they associate with others and their casual language and life cultures.
There are a lot of things you can find out about people on myspace and facebook just by looking at their friends sites.
It doesn't take that long.
It's a good way to see someones EQ, how they associate with others and their casual language and life cultures.
... how deep someone will dig if they have a good reason -- such as getting background on you for a security clearance. There are many fine jobs that require a security clearance, and adverse publicity from a neighbor or a web page could bar that door for you. It may not be the HR boss doing the digging in person; it could be a paid private investigator or an agent of the U.S. Justice Department or State Department.
If the picture is "compelling" enough, it'll take on a life of its own. Whoever has access to it will copy it and share it with others, and it would likely end up somewhere where there are much more public access rights assigned to it than the original location.
That may be true but unless you are being considered for a job where you need secret security clearance there's not much point in the prospective employer trawling the web for photos. Finding a single point of failure probably is as far as they'll go.
It's like my mail server. My emails of course are recorded in ISP email records all over the place because my correspondents use their ISPs servers. However, there's not a single point of failure (my own ISP) where authorites can find a complete history of my emails in the course of a fishing expedition.
(If they were investigating me personally they would come and seize my computers, but I'm not as concerned about that scenario as I am about the fishing expeditions.)
It's like my mail server. My emails of course are recorded in ISP email records all over the place because my correspondents use their ISPs servers. However, there's not a single point of failure (my own ISP) where authorites can find a complete history of my emails in the course of a fishing expedition.
(If they were investigating me personally they would come and seize my computers, but I'm not as concerned about that scenario as I am about the fishing expeditions.)
The less of those there are, the better your chances.
Facebook is for people with nothing better to do than talk about themselves.
Facebook is for people with nothing better to do than talk about themselves.
My familiy is spread all across the country and the globe. Facebook provides us a perfect format to communicate with each other and share things we otherwise couldn't. I am glad you don't have control over my career with a narrow minset like that. Apparently everyone has to measure up to your standards or they are lacking. Sad, really.
On 30 Rock they called it (or at least a fake site that was identical)
right:
"Horny married chicks with kids who want to exchange pervy emails
with old boyfriends from highschool"
. . . now they're not ALL like that, but frankly, if I want to exchange
email and photos and family info there are easier, more private and
safer ways to do it without exposing myself and my family to all the
"pervs" out there. And as been pointed out, Facebook isn't as
impervious to public distribution as most think.
I distribute photos via email for the most part and using a password-
protected MobileMe gallery for slideshows which I then don't leave up
forever. The web is NOT secure, just in case you weren't following the
Chinese Google hacker debacle. Anything on your Facebook page
could become completely public at any time.
I don't put stickers on my car and I don't post my life on social
networking sites. It just tells too many crazy people too much about
me. But that's just me. There are people who feel like they have to
have it all out there. In the old days it was interminable slideshows of
your vacation to Disneyland. These days it's Facebook . . . .
JoeL
right:
"Horny married chicks with kids who want to exchange pervy emails
with old boyfriends from highschool"
. . . now they're not ALL like that, but frankly, if I want to exchange
email and photos and family info there are easier, more private and
safer ways to do it without exposing myself and my family to all the
"pervs" out there. And as been pointed out, Facebook isn't as
impervious to public distribution as most think.
I distribute photos via email for the most part and using a password-
protected MobileMe gallery for slideshows which I then don't leave up
forever. The web is NOT secure, just in case you weren't following the
Chinese Google hacker debacle. Anything on your Facebook page
could become completely public at any time.
I don't put stickers on my car and I don't post my life on social
networking sites. It just tells too many crazy people too much about
me. But that's just me. There are people who feel like they have to
have it all out there. In the old days it was interminable slideshows of
your vacation to Disneyland. These days it's Facebook . . . .
JoeL
especially to those who aren't paranoid about the internet...
As part of a hazing awareness last year all greek life and sports teams went to hear a lawyer talk about facebook, myspace, etc... And its the same thing. Most of them got caught by putting pictures of incriminating acts on the internet. Regardless of which site, someone finds them.
Some schools' residential life departments will take action when drunken photos arise on facebook if the person is underage.
Even if its not a picture of something illegal, if it can be misinterpreted, it's probably best to have your settings locked down to those who will know what is going on.
Bottom line, if you don't want your grandmother seeing it, don't upload. If you're gunna be dumb, you gotta be tough.
As part of a hazing awareness last year all greek life and sports teams went to hear a lawyer talk about facebook, myspace, etc... And its the same thing. Most of them got caught by putting pictures of incriminating acts on the internet. Regardless of which site, someone finds them.
Some schools' residential life departments will take action when drunken photos arise on facebook if the person is underage.
Even if its not a picture of something illegal, if it can be misinterpreted, it's probably best to have your settings locked down to those who will know what is going on.
Bottom line, if you don't want your grandmother seeing it, don't upload. If you're gunna be dumb, you gotta be tough.
Most employers I know are ok with blogs as long as you don't talk explicitly about work - that is, mention the place where you work,
what you do etc. and that what you say.
Most employers I know are pretty fair about things, heck, my own
employer knows I make liveleak videos and maintain a blog talking
about a variety of issues - none of them concerning him (having
talked to him about whether I should curtail the use/close them down
after gaining employment).
The problem is that there is a fine line between having fun, voicing an
opinion - and basically acting like an idiot. We all get drunk - but I can
tell you that when people do photo's of themselves drunk then upload
it for the rest of the world to see - as an employer it tells me that the
individual finds getting drunk as something to be proud of.
As an employer I would ask myself; could I really trust this person
when I am not supervising him or her? by uploading this photo or
video it is telling me that she has some serious poor judgement issues
and I certainly don't want these sorts of decisions being made which
could ruin my companies reputation.
Again, I'm no prude and I've had my share of debauchery (some which
would make your hair stand on end) - but there is a time and place for
it - and that is to keep it a private matter, shared between friends and
not with the rest of the known universe.
what you do etc. and that what you say.
Most employers I know are pretty fair about things, heck, my own
employer knows I make liveleak videos and maintain a blog talking
about a variety of issues - none of them concerning him (having
talked to him about whether I should curtail the use/close them down
after gaining employment).
The problem is that there is a fine line between having fun, voicing an
opinion - and basically acting like an idiot. We all get drunk - but I can
tell you that when people do photo's of themselves drunk then upload
it for the rest of the world to see - as an employer it tells me that the
individual finds getting drunk as something to be proud of.
As an employer I would ask myself; could I really trust this person
when I am not supervising him or her? by uploading this photo or
video it is telling me that she has some serious poor judgement issues
and I certainly don't want these sorts of decisions being made which
could ruin my companies reputation.
Again, I'm no prude and I've had my share of debauchery (some which
would make your hair stand on end) - but there is a time and place for
it - and that is to keep it a private matter, shared between friends and
not with the rest of the known universe.
...for example a person with a drinking problem who doesn't talk about it and doesn't share it is so much more reliable than your typical college grad who may have had a couple of goofy photos from their younger (and stupider) days.
Form over function. Sigh.
Of course doing a facebook search is so much *easier* than doing a real background check.
And if it's easier it must be better! Right?
Right?
Bleh. PHBs live and breathe. Words to remember.
Form over function. Sigh.
Of course doing a facebook search is so much *easier* than doing a real background check.
And if it's easier it must be better! Right?
Right?
Bleh. PHBs live and breathe. Words to remember.
This is part of an ongoing annoyance of mine, and one that seems won't go away, and is likely to spread. What I do in my personal life is irrelevant to my ability to do my job. Revolutionary socialist, drunk on Saturday, compulsive geek, mountaineer, porn surfer... as long as I don't break the law, as long as I work hard, am on time, do my job without glitch or prompt - all the rest is irrelevant to the employer. Or should be. Individuals, not machines. My employer does not own my life, he rents me for 8 or 9 hours a day.
Sometimes I just take a day off "well". They never mention it, because they know that I do twice as much work as anybody else.
I once worked somewhere that docked you 15 minutes pay if you were 3 minutes late. The solution? Just sit there until 15 minutes past.
I once worked somewhere that docked you 15 minutes pay if you were 3 minutes late. The solution? Just sit there until 15 minutes past.
Someone I read has divided us into two groups: online natives and online immigrants.
The natives are those of us who grew up with the Internet and who have an attitude towards it that it's OK to share intimate details with the world. The immigrants are those of us who grew up before the Internet and bring to it our attitudes about privacy and decorum.
This may be a problem when immigrants are hiring natives for jobs but once the natives are doing the hiring this won't be such a big deal.
The natives are those of us who grew up with the Internet and who have an attitude towards it that it's OK to share intimate details with the world. The immigrants are those of us who grew up before the Internet and bring to it our attitudes about privacy and decorum.
This may be a problem when immigrants are hiring natives for jobs but once the natives are doing the hiring this won't be such a big deal.
But it'll be while before that's endemic, and equally some natives will turn immigrant. Which seems such an odd thing to write...
As people mature they also grow smarter. It is not so much "native" VS
"immigrant" as it is "immature" (the native) VS "mature" (the immigrant).
"immigrant" as it is "immature" (the native) VS "mature" (the immigrant).
If they have some dumb fcuk PR person making "decisions" on this basis then they are merely limiting their own potential resource pool.
Capitalism becomes Communism.
Capitalism becomes Communism.
That gets the "flu" every monday? It really is a question of maturity and
nothing else.
Natives - immature.
Immigrants - mature.
nothing else.
Natives - immature.
Immigrants - mature.
Umm, wow. Ignore me.
Totally didn't read the giant thread of messages where it was established that you were talking about ONLINE immigrants and natives.
*cough*
Totally didn't read the giant thread of messages where it was established that you were talking about ONLINE immigrants and natives.
*cough*
I only hire mature professional drunks or alcoholics. I prefer the drunks, cause the alcoholics spend a lot of time at meetings and tend to bring the rest of us down between their binges.
The professional drunks manage to show up everyday and give me the 8 hours of work that I am paying them for. They keep their personal drunken lives to themselves. And I don't have to hear about it or see pics of how many drinks they had, what kind and how many times the puked and fell down over the weekend.
Instead of like the immature drunks who are too busy on facebook and myspace most of the day monday (if they show up and if they can type thru the hangover like a real grown up without whining about their aching head all day) and friday (if they show up) posting last weekends party pics and comments and planning the next party.
I end up doing all their work, worthless and easy to spot on facebook and myspace.
The professional drunks manage to show up everyday and give me the 8 hours of work that I am paying them for. They keep their personal drunken lives to themselves. And I don't have to hear about it or see pics of how many drinks they had, what kind and how many times the puked and fell down over the weekend.
Instead of like the immature drunks who are too busy on facebook and myspace most of the day monday (if they show up and if they can type thru the hangover like a real grown up without whining about their aching head all day) and friday (if they show up) posting last weekends party pics and comments and planning the next party.
I end up doing all their work, worthless and easy to spot on facebook and myspace.
I once worked for a manager that had a drinking problem, and often drank on the job. He made poor decisions (both personally and professionally). Eventually, he was found out and fired, but not before he had seriously damaged the reputation of our development group. In that case, I wish HR had discovered it sooner.
And yes, I question the professionalism of anyone who would choose to post an image of themselves being drunk. (Pictures taken and posted by others are a little different situation.)
While companies can take this to extremes, never forget that...
1) Employees are expected to represent their companies during business hours.
2) Personal conduct and morality show through in how you conduct yourself on company time (this can be good or bad).
3) Managers may question the professional judgment of anyone who choses to post pictures of themselves in that type of situation.
Remember... if your HR manager can find them, so can your company's customers and vendors.
And yes, I question the professionalism of anyone who would choose to post an image of themselves being drunk. (Pictures taken and posted by others are a little different situation.)
While companies can take this to extremes, never forget that...
1) Employees are expected to represent their companies during business hours.
2) Personal conduct and morality show through in how you conduct yourself on company time (this can be good or bad).
3) Managers may question the professional judgment of anyone who choses to post pictures of themselves in that type of situation.
Remember... if your HR manager can find them, so can your company's customers and vendors.
And the United States is fed up with it. No more patronizing any company that outsources jobs to India or China, etc. If its not Made in America, we're not buying it. Sorry. USA first.
Just as long as you are happy with China taking a "China first" approach...
Incidentally, I think outsourcing is shortsighted, so on that topic I sort of agree with you, but then free markets with free flow of capital tend to lead to short-sighted business decisions. (It's nice how I don't have to defend that statement any more these days...)
Incidentally, I think outsourcing is shortsighted, so on that topic I sort of agree with you, but then free markets with free flow of capital tend to lead to short-sighted business decisions. (It's nice how I don't have to defend that statement any more these days...)
Free markets are a double-edge sword. Live by it/die by it... Consumers are in charge now. 2009 is a new era. No more "made in china" for the USA. Sorry.
that his employees needed to earn enough to afford to buy the products he was selling. The exodus of manufacturing and other jobs that allowed people to enjoy middle class lifestyles also eliminated the consumers with discretionary spending capabilities aspect of the former employees. Then, when speculators sent energy costs into orbit taking what little money was left, it was and is the beginning of the end for the global economy.
I've found a site that will *solve* this problem (at least it has for me)
www.bejant.com is a facebook-esque site but geared towards job hunting. I, for one, will be limiting my facebook activities and focusing my jobhunting on bejant.
www.bejant.com is a facebook-esque site but geared towards job hunting. I, for one, will be limiting my facebook activities and focusing my jobhunting on bejant.
So, suddenly it's a "negative" thing to be interested
in your employees lives? To consider them humans, and
make calls based on their ability to function as such?
The simple fact of the matter is, if YOU fail to have
the good sense to know what should or should not be
posted for all to see, then I wouldn't want you as a
coworker, an employee, or an employer.
And for the record, yeah, I'm a "native" here. That
doesn't make me an ignorant idiot; I still understand
what business is about, and an employee that values
fun and drink over work ethic and professionalism has
no place in today's evolving market.
Maybe outsourcing wouldn't be such an issue if you
actually tried to compete with the global employee
pool instead of bitching about it online.
in your employees lives? To consider them humans, and
make calls based on their ability to function as such?
The simple fact of the matter is, if YOU fail to have
the good sense to know what should or should not be
posted for all to see, then I wouldn't want you as a
coworker, an employee, or an employer.
And for the record, yeah, I'm a "native" here. That
doesn't make me an ignorant idiot; I still understand
what business is about, and an employee that values
fun and drink over work ethic and professionalism has
no place in today's evolving market.
Maybe outsourcing wouldn't be such an issue if you
actually tried to compete with the global employee
pool instead of bitching about it online.
I have a friend who is a 38-year-old mother of 10-year-old twins who is the Director of HR and SHE has a Facebook page.
What is the point if you can check facebook for the person who will be interviewing you as well? Once you know their name you can find out quite a lot about them too.
What a twisted view that somehow when someone works for you, you own them lock, stock, and barrel! How far do people like you go? Do you investigate their reading habits, their viewing habits, their diets, sexual mores? Do they have to jog every day, drive Prius'? Who in the Hell are you do dictate what people do with their private lives as long as it does not involve or affect their work or workplace? What about their right to refuse or decline your "interest" in their lives. You sound more like a paranoid snoop than a concerned friend! There need to laws to protect people from those like you!
But then again, given several equally qualified applicants for a job, how do you whittle them down?
Sure the employer only sees you for 8 hours a day but doesn't the employer potentially have to live with your reduced capacity due to hangovers and even days off when it is really bad?
Does an employer have to live with the potential of you being arrested and missing days for court time for illegal activities?
Why should any employer have to live with the potential problems of a new employee especially when they post and brag about those activities online?
There have even been cases of employees being fired for calling in sick and then bragging about throwing a sickie on Facebook.
When you supply your employer with just cause for being fired or not hired in the first place, why are you surprised when they opt for a more reliable employee than you?
Sure the employer only sees you for 8 hours a day but doesn't the employer potentially have to live with your reduced capacity due to hangovers and even days off when it is really bad?
Does an employer have to live with the potential of you being arrested and missing days for court time for illegal activities?
Why should any employer have to live with the potential problems of a new employee especially when they post and brag about those activities online?
There have even been cases of employees being fired for calling in sick and then bragging about throwing a sickie on Facebook.
When you supply your employer with just cause for being fired or not hired in the first place, why are you surprised when they opt for a more reliable employee than you?
Those who have pride in their work and their company will not see their company as "renting" them for 8 hours a day.
Good employees should conduct themselves in a manner that does not bring shame or dishonor to their company and helps it achieve its goals. I know those are the qualities I look for in someone I would hire.
It's a free country and what you do in your free time is your choice, but if you are not smart enough to make sure that embarrassing or dishonoring information (rants, photos, bad language, etc. ) is not propagated freely and loosely on the Internet, then you have a reason to be passed over for another employee who has equal skill PLUS a personal policy for properly using social networks.
Good employees should conduct themselves in a manner that does not bring shame or dishonor to their company and helps it achieve its goals. I know those are the qualities I look for in someone I would hire.
It's a free country and what you do in your free time is your choice, but if you are not smart enough to make sure that embarrassing or dishonoring information (rants, photos, bad language, etc. ) is not propagated freely and loosely on the Internet, then you have a reason to be passed over for another employee who has equal skill PLUS a personal policy for properly using social networks.
I think its great that they are checking peoples social networking sites. One thing I dont like is when I find out some party animal got the job I wanted, and now he's going to waste whole paychecks on beer. Its also going to benefit businesses ,and help out people who are serious about getting a jobs and not fooling around. People like me! =]
You assume that your need for that job was more important that the needs of the guy selling beer, or working in the beer factory...or driving the beer truck...*Snicker*
Engineers are by far the most sought after and highest
paid group for any profession (many go into law), and boy
are they the hardest partiers at any university, after, and
do some crazy stuff. I haven't come across anyone willing
to deny an engineer a job based on being drunk in photos
nor having a crappy gpa to boot!
Flip the question on it's head: are you increasing your job
prospects? Working in the hospitality industry during
university I used my facebook to show I was a good
networker and partier to land several bartending jobs. Now
I used it as a way to show I'd be a good salesman because I
know how to use social media.
paid group for any profession (many go into law), and boy
are they the hardest partiers at any university, after, and
do some crazy stuff. I haven't come across anyone willing
to deny an engineer a job based on being drunk in photos
nor having a crappy gpa to boot!
Flip the question on it's head: are you increasing your job
prospects? Working in the hospitality industry during
university I used my facebook to show I was a good
networker and partier to land several bartending jobs. Now
I used it as a way to show I'd be a good salesman because I
know how to use social media.
Join the conversation!
The best of ZDNet, delivered
ZDNet Newsletters
Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox
Vendor Showcase
Facebook Activity
