Facebook and employers
 

There has been a bunch of stuff in the media lately about prosespetive employers and their policies on checking Facebook. Some people complain that it is a violation of their privacy and akin to going to the person's house and searching there. I think that's whining and that nothing on the Interweb is really private and looking at someone's FB page is a far cry from a home search. I do however, agree that aksing the person to turn over usernames and passwords to FB and e-mail accounts is over the line but asking the interviewee to log in during the interview so the interviewer can peruse the person's FB page is fair game. I just did that the other day. No big deal to me. If you want the job, there are sacrifices including the prospective employer calling your references.

What do you guys think?

got rid of my Facebook account a couple years ago. got tired of wasting time reading what others thought were oh-so-clever comments, and the overall incessant need of everyone to share every single minute detail of their less than exciting lives.

if I did still have an account and a prospective employer wanted access, I'd lie and say I don't have one. if they persisted, I'd walk out the door. it's private, personal information for which they should have no claim.

then again, if you don't want those details known, don't post them to a public forum like Facebook...

If they want to see all kinds of pictures and information about my kids, let them have at it. I don't put anything out of FB that I have a need to hide.

Odd and different 'times' here in the Net/FB/blog & GOOG era...
I hired people for 25 of the nearly 3 decades I 'worked'. It was very different 'then', even as recently as 2000, when I last 'worked'. References were checked thoroughly and, starting in the mid '90s on, we ran driver license, (sales people were getting a co. car and had to freakin drive), and a credit check.

But, GOOG, FB, and a ~$50 background toss didn't exist...

I suppose 'today', if I was still doing what I did: hire, train and manage sales and mkt'ng people, I would use the Net for GOOG, quick background checks, etc. Not sure I would care about someone's FB, though I could find that now in a NY minute. And, 'interesting people' usually made the best sales people in my old experiences, so if someone had an 'interesting' or unusual FB page, I doubt that would be any deal breaker.

I agree with UCrew: unless I goof up posting, there is nothing I put up on FB, or XOutpost, or any of the boards I peruse, that I have any concern over someone reading.

Everyone thinks they are PIs these days, and if someone puts up a stupid pic or post, it seems to hang, like a Scarlet Letter, for way too long. PC and Kumbaya BS, imo.

Different Times, a good album by Lou Reed, from the '70s...though not for most of the younger listeners here, ;)

All the cries of "oh it's my private information and you have no right to see it" are BS. Like you all say, if you don't post anything you don't want anyone or only select few seeing. There truly is nothing private on the Internet. Anyway, if you want the job you have to play ball. If you value your perceived privacy more than the job then tell them hands off.

I had to log in to my rather dormant FB page. They did not ask for my password. Once logged in, a quick scroll and scan was all that was done. No looking at my private messages or any real digging. Of interest were what kinds of people I was FB friends with and what those people were posting. I am not really active on FB and I am not one of those people who collect FB "friends" like marbles and have a need to accumulate stats so everything is pretty boring on my FB. Lots of pics of kids, pets, and scenery.

I just found the recent discussions about this issue interesting and annoying.

Facebook has changed on who you want to post to, but I am amazed that many people just post the things which should be for just close family or relatives to the whole world. Some have the compulsive habit of posting every little thing they do during the day, which may not interest others at all. To quote someone "I don't need to know how many things you do during the day or how many times you went to the bathroom:rofl:"

If I am hiring I would like to know if you are that kind of person who posts everything or you posted pics of yourself or friends drunk at party last week. That will tell me about you. Several years ago employers were using behavioral questions plus background check to dig the same.

There will probably be a day when facebook meets myspace fate as a new (something better) social media concept has arrived. :dunno: ;)

I'm not looking for a job but if I were, my perspective employer wouldn't care less if
I had a face book account. To them it matters not. But do I care? i'll say yes. Why?

There may not be anything on MY FB account that anyone shouldn't or couldn't see but that
not the point. In my opinion. Theres a principal in place that we as humans expect to be honored
and that principal is “Things that we deem private are just that, private. You shouldn’t be required
to give up your right to private communications. You shouldn’t be required to give up your private life just to get a job.”

However I also know that there are many people who have FB accounts that everyone on gods green earth can see.
For them it may not matter. In that case if they want to provide that information so be it. People should
be given the choice and that choice should be honored.

I agree with this sentiment exactly. I have a facebook profile that I started literally the week that it was available in my*university over 8 years ago (when there were only a couple thousand users in its infancy and you had to be a student at a small list of colleges), and I have been very careful to ensure incriminating pictures and posts are nowhere near my page the whole time. I am friends with relatives and a couple of coworkers, so I am very congizant of the audience I have looking at all the information that gets posted and I've never had an objection.
*
HOWEVER, I do have private messages that exist in no other medium that I would not want to share with anyone because they are just that - private. For example, if someone had found me on facebook that I hadn't seen since middle school and wrote about a prank we pulled or a crush we had, I wouldn't want anyone else perusing the conversation. Regardless of the nature of those messages, they should be completely protected, and I think it is WAY overstepping the bounds of a company, government agency or girlfriend *to ask for full access to your facebook. I would however not mind adding a potential as a friend on facebook to let them see what my profile is like - in fact, I'd gladly do that. I'm pround of a lot of the stuff on there because they'd see that I volunteer, I'm active in lots of sports and recreation, I'm close with my friends and family, and I am a dynamic person not just a numbers guy (I work in corporate finance). So I think them seeing a different side of a person rather than some young guy in a grey suit and white shirt would be a very positive revelation, but I don't think anyone should be allowed to sift through the personal side of someone else's page.

What about reading through your gmail/hotmail/etc. emails?

IMHO the fair game is whatever a FB user has visible to everyone. Everything that is limited to friends is private and shouldn't be employer's concern unless there are specific requirements like for clearance jobs. Also, login into your profile also opens your friends potentially private info and exposes it w/o their consent. IIRC, anyone can refuse answering a background investigator; the above bypasses such option.

I would have no problems, and actually suggest and welcome opening my profile, or 'linking' with potential/current employer on professional networks like LinkedIn.