When Young Teachers Go Wild on the Web: Public Profiles Raise Questions of Propriety and Privacy
Blogging yet another story that reminds young fans of social networking sites that their profiles may be more public than they think. WashPo
"I know for a fact that when a superintendent in Missouri was interviewing potential teachers last year, he would ask, 'Do you have a Facebook or MySpace page?' " said Todd Fuller, a spokesman for the Missouri State Teachers Association, which is warning members to clean up their pages. "If the candidate said yes, then the superintendent would say, 'I've got my computer up right now. Let's take a look.' "How would you feel if a potential employer clicked through your social networking profile during a job interview?
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I'd be disappointed in their lack of tact. Everyone knows part of the interview process is a social screening for compatibility; there's no need to shout it to the skies.
I suppose the Deception quote on my Facebook page would be mildly embarrassing. There are also a few things that are on the EEOC no-no list, like martial status, though I have no trouble sharing that with the world.
Note that the reporter is quoting someone who says he heard what another employer did... it's certainly dramatic, but as you say, it's not tactful. A good interviewer would have checked out the profile before inviting the candidate to the face-to-face interview.
Related topic: when I was in the hallways of U Pitt-Greensburg last weekend for a writer's workshop, I noticed that there were posters on the walls warning students about posting party photos online and ruining their job opportunities ... these posters had the same gravitas as "smoking can kill you" or "don't drink and drive" warning signs...this trend is so common now the message has become a Public Service Announcement!
There is no doubt that the issue does bring some concern to young people entering the work force, but on the other hand it is very easy to simply click the option of making your profile private to people that aren't in your social network can't view a thing you post. So that being said I don't think alarm should be raised to the point where members of these networks should go delete their accounts. It is simply a matter of being smart and exercising a little caution.
When traditional print and TV media repeatedly publish the message "the internet is scary," it caters to the fears of a certain demographic of society. I agree most people have little cause for alarm, but every year I meet new students who don't expect their parents or employers ever to learn about what they do online -- perhaps because most of the adults in their lives don't spend that much time online.
I agree with you about students thinking that the adults in their lives wouldn't see anything they did online. True, very true.