Facebook and working

[ClickClickahShit]

I just want to hear peoples opinions on this.

I am currently applying for a job which will be at the company I want to work at when I have graduated and left college. As of right now I am applying for an internship basically but afterwards it will be more like supply chain management. I am lucky enough to have the opportunity because my father is president of sales and is my connection. However, he assures me that if I don't clean up my Facebook profile I will most likely not get the job. Now what he saw was this, a picture of me sipping on a Pacifico and in the background is Mexico's palm trees and such CLEARLY not in Minnesota (Also I may have put Barney the pink dinosaur as my inspirational person for funnzies but I fixed that one).

Now I can see that at first glance, with the beer in my hand, that an employer could think I am a RAGING alcoholic (jk im not). However, if you were to meet me in real life and get to know me I am quite the opposite. When it comes to work where I am in a professional atmosphere I will act professional. All I am saying is that I think it's unfair that employers will come to a decision to terminate, deny, or whatever based on what they have seen from a Facebook profile page and not by what they see in an interview. I mean yes I have done some stupid shit before but haven't we all.

Anywhos just wanted to hear peoples opinions on Facebook in the working world.

~Cl!cK

[Holland 1st MRB]

Unfortunately, first opinions can completely determine the outcome of a job interview. It depends on how ridiculous the people in charge of hiring feel like being on a given day.

Though it is unfair, their is hardly any way to mediate it. In my opinion, a company where the people in charge come to ridiculous assumptions so quickly, without founding, proof, or reason, is not a company I care to work for.

Good luck on the interview though. I am sure you will do fine.

[ClickClickahShit]

I have seen applications for jobs where the employer actually asks you for your facebook information. That's what gets me lol

[Wells 1st MRB]

Unfortunately for you, businesses have many ways to view your account - so I suggest that you just change your name for a short period until after you obtain the job haha. Then cover your ass and be smart about your facebook usage in conjunction with work activities. It's extremely easy to get sued for information exchanged on facebook these days. Also keep in mind that although you may have made your account private, once you published something on facebook, that information is no longer private and you can never stop someone from using it in ways it was not intended.

* fun fact for you, it's being discussed in the US whether or not corporations can fire you if you deny them access to your facebook accounts. Something to mull over!

**edit: They can add your friends and get onto your account that way, no matter what your settings are!

[Wells 1st MRB]

McDowell if you think people can't get to your facebook we need to have an intervention. It's the internet!

[M. Johnson 1st MRB]

Okay. The thing with Facebook is that it's become more than a social networking site, it's become a business tool. As a person working for a company, having your profile available for people to see, even if it's just friends and family, the company sees you representing them at all times.

Alot of it is a load of crap and it shouldnt be able to effect a businesses decision, but it does. For me, Facebook is an important tool for my work, whether it's promoting events, posting information for our team in our group page or just getting in touch with new acts. Its a platform for our business, and speeds up alot of things that would usually take alot longer.

I have in the past had my work ask me to remove certain things from my profile that related to them, and by all means I obliged. I literally have no privacy settings, which is good in the sense that it puts across that I have nothing to hide with anyone I work with especially in the business. I restrict myself from posting negative stuff in terms of life/work/etc because I rather not have people who dont know me to well judge me on these points.

[McKenzie 1st MRB]

So what ya'll are saying is I SHOULDN'T tag you all in the pic of the last 1st MRB party with the 20 key's of Columbian Bam Bam and Jingle and Belle, the two asian midget strippers then?

[Holland 1st MRB]

So what ya'll are saying is I SHOULDN'T tag you all in the pic of the last 1st MRB party with the 20 key's of Columbian Bam Bam and Jingle and Belle, the two asian midget strippers then?

Please do. I was looking for a promotion in my current place of work anyways.

Edited April 18, 2012 by Holland 1st MRB

[Wells 1st MRB]

So what ya'll are saying is I SHOULDN'T tag you all in the pic of the last 1st MRB party with the 20 key's of Columbian Bam Bam and Jingle and Belle, the two asian midget strippers then?

They were Asian?

[Cast 1st MRB]

America is just weird. No one checks facebooks for jobs here. If you post anything negative about your workplace where i work you get told off.

[Hall]

When I applied for the police academy they looked over my facebook while they logged me in and had me go over every photo and comment for about an hour, and now it has become standard practice for any department. I had a good friend of mine get a job turned down just because of a facebook photo. My suggestion get rid of every photo that may be interpreted in a bad way or just deactivate it. Best of luck.

[Pangilinan 1st MRB]

Which might also be the reason why I haven't been called back. Being a vocal Republican in a Democrat administration means Government jobs dump me.

That or USAJobs is the worse job search site in the world.

Anyways, what Wells and Hall are saying.

By the way.

HOLY SHIT WELLS IS BACK?!

[Cozad]

if a company thinks that mulling over your facebook pictures is a good way to judge potential applicants, then they probably aren't a company worth applying for...

with that said, if you really are having potential problems gaining employment because of facebook, then i think its time to deactivate. a job trumps a lame ass waste of time website 8 days a week...

[Ultranator BAR]

Here's a store about a guy being asked for his facebook password at an interview.

http://articles.boston.com/2012-03-20/busi...ssword-facebook

I seriously don't understand how they can get away with that. It's against the law to ask any questions that aren't related to the work someone will be doing. Like, "Are you married, pregnant, religious... ect." This should also be not allowed. My wife's a teacher, and she is constantly making sure she doesn't even have friends that post inappropriate stuff. She could lose her job. I've heard of teachers being fired because one of their students found a picture on MySpace holding a beer. Which makes my scout leader telling me that he saw my band director at a strip club kind of confusing now that I think about it. (Apparently it was one of the better places to play pool back in the day...)

I would do like Magoo says and lock your facebook down, Click. Or even deactivate it until you get a job. But I'd also say that some people use facebook for soap boxes too much. Venting their frustrations with law enforcement, or your friends not showing up to parties.... Well, bitching about it on facebook will make them want to come more, obviously...

/rantcomplete.

[Al-Jefri 1st MRB]

I thought you guys were trolling at the beginning, but this actually exists?! wtf

[M. Johnson 1st MRB]

I thought you guys were trolling at the beginning, but this actually exists?! wtf

AHA, yeah. mad world we live in right!?

[Ultranator BAR]

This should be the only thing they should be allowed to do

I agree. The problem is actually policing it. At McDonald's there is a policy that exists about facebook. Basically stating that talking about anything work related on it from, venting about your personal opinion, to just mentioning anything that someone else did is bad.

It's out there, but I haven't decided to implement it yet at our store. A lot of my employees are friends with me, and they still post stupid stuff, like, "I hate my job, blah blah." Or posting a picture of them stringing receipts that should have gone to customers around the drive through booth like garland.

[Bryant 1st MRB]

I agree. The problem is actually policing it. At McDonald's there is a policy that exists about facebook. Basically stating that talking about anything work related on it from, venting about your personal opinion, to just mentioning anything that someone else did is bad.

It's out there, but I haven't decided to implement it yet at our store. A lot of my employees are friends with me, and they still post stupid stuff, like, "I hate my job, blah blah." Or posting a picture of them stringing receipts that should have gone to customers around the drive through booth like garland.

ive been there almost 2 years and never heard that, so what what we saqy tho, its not a big deal

[Benson]

I came across this a few weeks ago. Interesting read http://abaldwin360.tumblr.com/post/2040496...employer-war-on

[Dawson 1st MRB]

Get you some of these.

http://techcrunch.com/2009/05/06/meatcards...kin-laser-beam/