Facebook Wants to Destroy You

Yahoo! News recently featured a piece on "6 Career-Killing Facebook Mistakes," covering a range of issues on how potential employees should craft their Facebook profiles considering the far-reaching investigative techniques used by employers. As a graduate student soon to enter the workforce, this is a warning bell I've heard often from friends as well as my parents. You name it and I've heard it. My wondering whether Canadian "dirty talk" involves Canadians rattling off factoids about Wayne Gretzky's NHL career during the throes of passion "isn't funny." Stating that FDR is my favorite president, and then pondering whether giving him a standing ovation would have offended him, "isn't going to get me a job." Of course it isn't -- I can't network with FDR. He isn't around anymore.

All of the things listed above are on my Facebook page, and all are in jest. But my jesting should be a source of concern, experts say. One of the first "career-killing-mistakes," according to the Yahoo! article, is inappropriate pictures. They report that employers "don't want to see pictures of you chugging a bottle of wine or dressed up for a night at the bar" and that the threshold for which pictures are appropriate should be based on "pictures you wouldn't want your grandparents to see." Well, it's a good thing employers don't want to see people chugging a bottle of wine while being dressed up, because I sip my bottle of wine (with pinky finger extended, of course) in only my boxers. If the police officers arresting me thought it was funny, why shouldn't any potential employer?

The picture you see to the right has been my Facebook profile image for some time. Is it professional enough? I think it sends off several potential messages to employers. For starters, my sexy gams could model. I've heard albino pigment is going to be the big thing in '10, but then again it's a rumor I started (tell your friends). Secondly, I think the "no signal" message being displayed on the corner of the television screen highlights my unlimited potential with electronics. And finally, I will not confirm or deny that I'm truly just a television with legs, which might help me explain to the district attorney why I get so turned on by strangers.

Another critical error listed by Yahoo! was described as "losing by association." It warns that future employees should be mindful of the friends we keep, as employers "do judge...by the company (we) keep, at least to some extent." I was extremely offended by this criterion. I don't need Yahoo! or Facebook to tell me my friends are losers. I've known that longer than anyone, and their loserness is a major part of their charm. I personally find this element to be off-base. It's unfair to judge a person based on what their friends post on Facebook. However, I suppose the "losing by association" does ring true in some cases. My mom is friends with me on Facebook and she's said I've reflected poorly on her for years.

A person's Facebook page is an extension of their private life and shouldn't be considered when a job position is on the line. There is a stark contrast between a person's private life and their professional life, not to mention their ability to positively contribute to a company. Have those doing the hiring never held a beer with friends before in a photo? Do they not tell silly jokes to their friends in their private life? Perhaps writing posts like this one, when all I've done is tell a few punchlines for a laugh, will hurt my job prospects in the future. But come interview time, should an employer mention this post, I'll have a question of my own: "If you feel mentioning my private life during a job interview is relevant, which one of us is truly professional, and why should I consider working for an employer that can't tell the difference?"

Scott Janssen is a graduate-student, blogger, all-around drain on society, and apparently will never be hired by anyone.

 

Follow Scott Janssen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pantslessponder

Comments

[InterVUme]

04:32 PM on 05/04/2010

I loved the post Scott, and can relate. In today's age of social media it is easy to get a glimpse into one's private life. YouTube videos can be even worse than Facebook posts. I think balancing the "fun" side of social networks with a "professio­nal" social network tool would be a good approach. How about making a good video resume or video introducti­on, and placing that on your social media site? That way the fun side of life is balanced with a profession­al side.

Alan
http://int­erVU.me

[wfglaser]

05:42 PM on 04/20/2010

FaceBook wants to destroy me? It's too late for that. I'm already a free thinker who enjoys giving the prudes and puritans and stuffed shirt conservati­ves a boatload every chance I get.

[jjtb4v]

04:50 PM on 04/20/2010

I try to make my facebook persona as crazy as possible. If they say why...? I say because I know that nutjobs are out there judging people by nonsense they see on the computer - which of course reflects on their own personalit­y more so than mine. I'd rather not work for someone who is going to be scouting me out on the web to see what stuff I post anyway. And if they don't like it, they can find someone else to do the job of 6 people for minimum wage.

[knylv8]

05:41 PM on 04/19/2010

While I am careful not to bad mouth or complain about my jobs on Facebook, and only make my page available to friends only, that's as far as I go. Anything other than basic background checks, drug tests, and previous job contacts just comes off as stalkerish to me. You would never find me holding drinks in my hand or wasted at a party in my photos, but if I did... I would not be able to work at a place that told me that they were searching my facebook page and found unacceptab­le behavior on it, or unacceptab­le friends. Creepy. How would my boss like if I told him that I was searching the internet for more informatio­n on him?

[timmyheather]

04:06 PM on 04/19/2010

I try to keep my Facebook as a reflection of "me" which means the people in my friends list are *gasp* actually my friends, my fan pages are people or things I'm proud to approve of, and my wall is filled with things that are happening in my life. If an employer has enough of a problem with my Facebook profile that they refuse to hire me over it, it's probably a good sign that I'd have hated the job. And yeah, my life is my life... a job is just one of many things in it.

I love the profile pic!

[rlcapps]

12:00 AM on 04/19/2010

If it's out there for the world to see, then it's out there for the WORLD to see. They can even look at your neighborho­od on google earth.

[henryle74]

07:12 AM on 04/18/2010

I have to disagree a bit with an author. In an ideal world we could keep our personal and profession­al lives seperate but even before facebook that wasn't possible. Most corporatio­ns have some sort of clause that says you can be terminated for engaging in personal behavior that causes embarrassm­ent to the company. I worked for an insurance co. that had this policy way back in 1999 long before facebook. They had this clause in case an employee was arrested or if something embarrassi­ng they did made it on tv or in the papers. Companies want to protect their image - I have heard of teachers being fired for showing slutty pictures of themselves on facebook. It is sadly a reality. I think you can have a personal life but you have to be careful. If for example, you are a beauty queen contestant­, it might not be wise to post those slutty pictures you took of yourself at a recent party. Doesn't facebook have a feature that lets only friends view your profile? Maybe there is a way to have your cake and eat it too - just keep your profile private. I guess its about commom sense.

[ryanlaw09]

01:25 AM on 04/15/2010

When I was in law school, I interviewe­d for a part time job clerking at a law firm. To my absolute mortificat­ion, the partner interviewi­ng me presented me with a printout of my MySpace page that one of my "friends" (who also worked at that firm) accessed for him. We discussed each of the items on the page, and why I found certain things funny (including Jim Carrey dressed as Vera De Milo on "In Living Color." Fortunatel­y, I don't think he saw any of the numerous pictures of me all-liquor­ed-up; at least he didn't bring it up. I somehow ended up getting the job.

After I graduated, though, I immediatel­y deleted both my MySpace and Facebook accounts. I never want to go through that again. It's just not worth it.

[Scott Janssen]

12:44 PM on 04/15/2010

ryanlaw09: It sounds like you handled it better than I would have. If someone began reading my myspace or facebook page line by line, I think my sarcasm gene would have kicked in and I would have started to ask the person doing the interviewi­ng questions about their private life.

I expect to answer questions about things I've written when I have a job interview, and I hope people can realize a joke is a joke and there's a time and a place for such things (like in private with friends).

Thanks for the comment and best of luck to you in the future.

[Leto II]

11:58 AM on 04/14/2010

Employers use several methods to screen their candidates­. These include background checks, drug screens, pre-employ­ment test, interviews­, etc. Researchin­g social networking sites is just another part of the screening process in today's age. Most people think that your work experience is what gets you a position. This is not true. If that was the case, companies would only hire from resumes. Interviews take place because they want to see who you are. Are you sloppily dressed? Will your personalit­y fit in with the manager and the team you'll be working with? How do you articulate yourself? What are your mannerisms­? Are you confident? Are you outspoken? Background checks can raise flags for employers if it reads that someone moved 10 times in 10 years. Facebook pages give that same type of informatio­n. If you don't mind posting pics of yourself all wasted with chicks all over you, chances are you won't get that job at that conservati­ve company with a conservati­ve culture. Sure, you may not be like that at work and you can still add value but you'll get eliminated from candidacy simply because the person you were competing against had the same credential­s but DID NOT have those type of pictures posted for the world to see.

People can be indignant about this issue all they want. But you know the rules of the game. Now adjust your game and play, and quit sitting on the sidelines whining about the rules.

[Scott Janssen]

05:28 PM on 04/14/2010

LetoII: Obviously posting pictures of yourself wasted isn't going to help your job prospects much. I think everyone understand­s the rules of the game. But judging a candidate because he or she had a picture of a beer in their hand, or telling jokes to friends, is going too far.

I prefer to be judged based on my resume and my interview, though if you'd like to engage in superficia­l assessment­s, we can. Based on your comment here, let's hope you don't do the hiring, because whatever company you work for is definitely one I'd never want to be a part of.

Thanks for the comment.

[Fever911]

07:42 AM on 04/14/2010

Facebook ruins lives in other ways. Like, when a relative stops by specially to tell you his wife is expecting a baby. You feel all blessed and important only to discover the rest of the family read it on Facebook a week before. WTF!

[Scott Janssen]

05:24 PM on 04/14/2010

Fever911: You have to love moments like that! Thank you for the comment.

[Michael Barnes]

08:03 AM on 04/13/2010

Damn you mean you aren't a TV with legs, all my beliefs are shattered.

I am sure there are people out there who carefully craft their online persona, ensure that it presents the right corporate face, and expresses jut the right mix of traits that the company is looking for, hell there are probably providers out there offering profession­al facebook profiles tailored for specific jobs that you buy. (and if not I think I have just thought up a money making scheme that I hearby offer to anyone ).
Just like there are profession­als who prepare resumes and offer coaching on interviews­.

The only problem for the company that relies on these sort of criteria is that they still don't know if the sort of person they are getting is any good. Beside how long do you have to pretend to be the persona on you facebook once you get the job, during training, the probationa­ry period, till your first annual report..fo­rever?

Wasn't it Sir Thomas Moore (as a good catholic you have probably come across him) said in A Man for All Season "If men must deny their hearts then how long before they have no hearts".

[Scott Janssen]

05:24 PM on 04/14/2010

Michael Barnes: May be one of the better comments I've seen!

[The Recovering Catholic]

11:38 AM on 04/12/2010

Scott, first of all, nice legs. Secondly, I think that if a company bases their hiring decisions on what we put on Facebook, that's a place I wouldn't want to work at to begin with. If they have no sense of humor, than perhaps the culture is not a good fit from the start and FB users can use this fact to screen out potential employers rather than the other way around. Who wants to work for a bunch of drips anyway? Finally, if someone is really concerned, the privacy features on FB should be able to block out prospectiv­e employers. And just in case there is a security breach, I use my real first name but my middle name as my last name, so they can't find me. ;)

[Scott Janssen]

11:44 AM on 04/12/2010

Recovering Catholic: I'm glad you like my legs! And I agree completely with the fact employment goes both ways. If a company truly thinks your ability to produce at a company is hindered because you have a photo of a beer in your hand, well, that seems to say more about the company than you, if you ask me.

Thanks for the compliment and comment!

[zurichmom]

03:16 PM on 04/12/2010

I think you make a very good point -- if a company is going to go so far as to look over your Facebook friends' photos and comments and judge you for it, do you really want to be working for them? They clearly expect their employees to behave like slaves and have no privacy whatsoever­. I think it's fine to do criminal background checks on prospectiv­e employees, but more than that is going too far.

[austropithicus]

11:27 AM on 04/12/2010

During a job search, deactivate your facebook profile. Voila!

[Scott Janssen]

11:31 AM on 04/12/2010

austropith­icus: You could do that or you could set all of your privacy settings as strictly as possible. Question for you, though: what should a guy like me do with articles like this easily tied to his name?

Thanks for the comment.

[austropithicus]

11:56 AM on 04/12/2010

Good question and I don't have an answer. But I like what the Recovering Catholic had to say above. Good companies will quit being so rigid in their hiring process or miss out on lots of creative, outspoken employees.

[David Jay Crispin]

11:14 AM on 04/12/2010

Gosh I can't spell.....­.Truer not true in sentence one. Red hair not read hair in the next to last line. So maybe they were right in not hiring me.

[Scott Janssen]

11:23 AM on 04/12/2010

David Jay Crispin: No worries about the spelling here. We all make typos, and you're free to make a typo anytime you'd like 'round these parts.

I hear what you're saying about the job interviewi­ng process. What I always try to keep in mind during a job interview is that it's a two-way street. You're trying to see if you'd fit in well at the company you're interviewi­ng too, and that always erases some of my nerves.

Thanks for the comment and good luck to you in the future!

[David Jay Crispin]

11:13 AM on 04/12/2010

Hear, hear. True words have never been spoken than your last sentence. Hire me for my ability to do the work you want done. In recent years I have noticed HR's being more and more ridiculous in how they judge potential employees. One job I interviewe­d for is perenniall­y empty because of an extremely long commute and bad working conditions­, but I wasn't the lucky candidate because a. I'm old, b. I'm fat, c. I have read hair, or d. I have multiple college degrees and thus am over qualified. Doesn't matter, they didn't hire me, but the job is continuall­y advertised­. STUPID

[Steph Swain]

09:13 AM on 04/17/2010

For all the reasons I am not on Facebook..­.just reference the recent "SouthPark­" episode on the subject. That aside, my husband is an avid "Facer" and was recently let go from the law firm he was clerking at. In the time that he was employed there, he virtually friended half the office. It was practicall­y a cult and recently he's been musing to himself if some of the things he posted may have contribute­d to his demise. He can almost trace back to the moment when management started harrassing him and feels it may have correspond­ed with a very innocuoust status update about "working for the man" or some nonsense.
On the flip side, he's had an out pouring of support from many of his former co-workers who felt his terminatio­n was unjust and completely unwarrante­d. They have all been trying to help him find something else as well as sending him encouragin­g comments. My feeling...­.Facebook is uber lame but can have positive and negative connotatio­ns when involving the work place. Just watch your step man!