Saturday evening, May 13th, the NBC Evening News had this story Employers digging up dirt online. I, and other bloggers, have been writing, better yet warning, people of all ages to be careful of what they are posting on Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites for a year or more. (Nice to see that the mainstream media is catching up to us.)
I also include a topic on this in my job search and networking seminars. These are great tools to stay in touch with classmates, friends, co-workers and family. These are great foundations to build upon a personal and business network with.
Steven Rothberg of CollegeRecruiter.com (who I seem to be quoting more and more lately) was in the story. He had a great analogy comparing profiles to tattoos. If you do not want someone to see your tattoo do not put it in a place where others can see it.
Same goes for these sites. If you do not want your parent, employer or friends (the ones who might not understand) to see what you are saying then make your profile “hidden”. Better yet, do not write it at all.
The story quotes a recent survey of recruiters:
-77% have used search engines to uncover information about candidates.
-35% have eliminated a candidate based on information found online.
Consider this another warning…
To see the story, go to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/ and then click on the link to Employers Digging Up Dirt Online.
Posted by: Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com | May 14, 2006 at 07:38 PM