Where Do You Draw the Line?
In my classes lately, we’ve been discussing the issue of privacy and how careful you need to be when considering your online presence. We’ve been talking about how potential employers are using Facebook and other common college social sites to get the inside scoop on what their interviewees are really like, and how dangerous this can be for students living in a world where pretty much everything you do is captured on a digital camera.
We worry and fret about what about us will be a deal-breaker in a hiring situation. Should we untag every photo of ourselves, or just the really bad ones from our 21st birthday party? Should we list only our career-oriented interests, or can we feel free to say that we enjoy things like shopping, partying and naps? Should we turn our Facebook account into a pseudo-resume, or can we use our profiles to interact with our friends online in relaxed, even silly ways?
I guess I’m somewhere in the middle. I don’t want to completely compromise my online personality out of fear that someone won’t hire me because I’m not always wearing a blazer and I happen to enjoy taking silly pictures. But at the same time, I can’t deny the real risks attached to revealing too much of one’s personal pasttimes online. (Just for the record, I think I live a fairly tame life compared to most of my peers, so maybe I’m not the best person to use as a gauge.) I go out of my way to warn my (non-savvy) peers that you know, maybe you SHOULDN’T post that picture of you puking in some bushes and maybe you SHOULDN’T say that your interests are simply “sex and food.”
The hardest part is that there are no real rules about this stuff.
What I find difficult is this: I truly don’t believe that the post-Facebook hiring managers out there never had a night (only one?) of partying with their friends in college. I also don’t believe that these hiring managers have never spent time with their friends in situations that were, let’s say, less than professional. The issue here is that students like me, who have grown up in a digital world where photos, video and sharing are commonplace, are being personally judged by people who were never in our shoes. It used to be that the interview and the resume were the deciding factors–now employers are digging for content outside of what we have chosen for you to see. I, myself am not ashamed of my Facebook profile; I just think that students and employers alike need to look at this judgment issue with a more critical eye.
Yes, we college kids capture and post footage that no one really needs to see, but maybe all the seasoned pros out there would have done the same if they had had the same technology and values driving their own college experience. It’s a different world for sure.
The point of this post is not to say that college kids should be off the hook when it comes to the content they post online, but I really think we all need to develop some guidelines for ourselves when it comes to the intersection of college, career, leisure time and social presence.
Just be glad you aren’t Stacy Hedger, OK? No matter how many drunk, sloppy photos of you there are on Facebook, it could never be as bad as this. For me, this would be a deal-breaker. If you were (or are) interviewing college kids, what would be a deal-breaker for you?
Amanda, Facebook, Social Media, Social Networks | Comments (13)13 Responses to “Where Do You Draw the Line?”
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As a hiring manager, I look for people who can generate results. A party photo or two isn’t a deal breaker as long as you’re honest about it when asked, and as long as you have other skills that are far more convincing. If what you have online isn’t great and that’s all that can be found about you, then worry. But if you’ve got a mad portfolio, a few drunk pictures will be normal.
As for what’s a deal breaker – anything involving blatantly seriously illegal activities would be bad. Any blog post detailing your embezzling or other behaviors like that, or the YouTube video of you microwaving a cat, etc.
C’mon, Chris. I only microwaved a cat ONCE. Gimme a break.
;)
One other tip – it’s okay to have more than one personality online. Make sure you have business and personal email addresses separated, then you can be a little more free.
I think this is an important issue. As newcomers with little experience, we’re at the mercy of employers, be they easygoing hipsters or traditional businessmen. Sometimes I feel like I’m running for public office.
At the same time, I try not to come off as an android in a suit because, believe it or not–despite the time I spend in the gym–I’m not an android in a suit.
…Although a drunk android would be funny, but that’s a philosophical discussion for some other time.
What if someone at my job like created Facebook?
Yeahhhh…
It’s all about common sense. I left the drinks photos in when I posted vacation pics to my facebook. But if there had been one of me or someone hanging naked off the end of the cruise ship? Proooobably would have left that out. The important thing is to just use one’s head, something that unfortunately not all young people are good at (present company most obviously excepted!). :)
Where do YOU vacation, Sarah?
Wow!
You know what I want to see when interviewing potential hires? Some party photos. Not acres of them, but enough to know that the person sitting across from me is human.
If you party, it means you know people. If other people are willing to be in pictures with you, it means people like you, and it means you know how to talk to people. If other people have tagged media that includes you, it means they remember your name.
These are good things.
If I interview someone with a squeaky-clean resume and zero web presence that doesn’t involve Saying All the Right Things, you know what I think?
“Here’s someone who knows how to cover their tracks — and will probably embezzle from me, steal my office supplies and quit without warning.”
Be not afraid of having a web persona. But, as in all things, do so in moderation — unless you really just don’t fucking care, in which case, be a rockstar. The people you’re interested in will respect you for it, and the jackasses who don’t won’t hire you anyway.
Justin. Awesome. Spread the word, OK?
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Yes, that’s cool. The device is amazing! Waiting for your next one!