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Social Media Privacy: Overrated or Mandatory?

January 12, 2011 By Gayle Howard 10 Comments

“I don’t want to see their resumes before I see their Facebook. AND don’t give me that privacy stuff; get over yourself, nobody is stalking you!

These are the words of a small business owner I was chatting with recently and the catalyst that prompted this article.

This young, dynamic entrepreneur is no doubt tapping into a workforce of young professionals who will complement her energetic style and align themselves with the vibrant, customer-care environment she extols. By going straight to social media and researching potential job candidates, she is looking for the authentic person that to her, is more “real” than the glossy content of a resume where people present their most professional, public face to employers.

After our chat, I felt uneasy. A jobseeker’s online footprint can be hard (if not impossible) to erase and there are many, many employees who have lost jobs or interviews when a rudimentary search on Google reveals some questionable behaviours, images, interests or unguarded moments.

Trying to sustain a consistent, personal brand 24 x 7 can be difficult enough for a business professional with years of experience, let alone a young person who perhaps is yet to understand the long-term ramifications of a hastily posted photo or anger-filled rant. Even if this was uppermost in the mind of the jobseeker, sometimes friends can reveal information or images best left to personal get-togethers than a public wall. Deleting and untagging photos to sustain a professional brand could become an ongoing chore if life was such an open book.

What would you do if getting a job relied on your life being available for view by just anyone?

What if you were desperate to get a job with this exciting business? Would you sacrifice privacy to get the job? What if the conditions of the job meant you were to maintain an unlocked Facebook page so if you were home sick from work, your Facebook status could be checked?

To get a feel for such an experience, I went to the business owner’s personal Facebook. She practises what she preaches; her life is an open book. I can see her friends, her leisure-time activities, the type of music she likes, and her philosophy of life. Oh.. and now we’re ‘friends’ so I can write on her wall.

But now I’m a customer and a friend. Has that blurred the boundaries and how do I feel about that? To be truthful, I admit to being a little disappointed. On the telephone she’s friendly, in charge and professional. Her follow-up emails are bright and breezy, her marketing is the best I’ve seen for a while (certainly in her industry). In my mind I have a good feel for her brand: smart, professional, customer-service focused and an expert in her field. It all goes slightly awry when she has a private life that sounds perfectly normal but to which I would not normally be exposed.

The lines are being blurred right across social media and of course it is routine for recruiters and employers to look online to find out what they can about the “real” person behind the resume on their desks.

The difference is when it becomes the primary and initial source of information and forces the jobseeker to reveal all to even be considered for a job.

Then the lines between employer, employees, friend and influential snoop become unfocused and somewhat uneasy.

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Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: social media

About Gayle Howard

If you are interested in working with Gayle Howard—an executive resume writer, Certified Master Resume Writer, multi-award-winning resume writer, and Master LinkedIn profile writer, drop her a line now using the contact form at the link above. Gayle can help you get interviews for your dream job and bring the world of business to you by maximizing your exposure and connections on LinkedIn.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gayle Howard says

    January 12, 2011 at 9:17 am

    Updated my blog! Social Media Privacy: Overrated or Mandatory?: “I don’t want to see their resumes before I see … http://bit.ly/hOzjaU

    Reply
  2. Wendy Jacob says

    January 12, 2011 at 9:21 am

    Really interesting read… RT @GayleHoward: Updated my blog! Social Media Privacy: Overrated or Mandatory?: http://bit.ly/hOzjaU

    Reply
  3. Hannah Morgan says

    January 12, 2011 at 4:08 pm

    RT @GayleHoward: Social Media Privacy: Overrated or Mandatory?: “I don’t want to see their resumes before I see … http://bit.ly/hOzjaU

    Reply
  4. Margo Rose says

    January 12, 2011 at 8:28 pm

    Be transparent, but be smart #HireFriday RT @GayleHoward: Social Media Privacy: Overrated or Mandatory? ##jobseekers http://bit.ly/gAf3Av

    Reply
  5. Margo Rose says

    January 12, 2011 at 11:43 pm

    RT @GayleHoward: Social Media Privacy: Overrated or Mandatory? ##jobseekers http://bit.ly/gAf3Av

    Reply
  6. Margo Rose says

    January 12, 2011 at 8:27 pm

    In my recent post, be authentic, just don’t be authentically foolish (http://hrmargo.com) I stated that being transparent is important, but jobseekers need to protect their digital foot print like a hawk. I agree with your points. This is a good post. Job seekers should be public about their search, but about their private lives…uh not so much.

    Reply
  7. SusanWhitcomb says

    January 24, 2011 at 2:24 pm

    Would you sacrifice privacy to get the job? http://bit.ly/dSW2tl via @GayleHoward

    Reply
  8. SHAFI ISLAM says

    January 24, 2011 at 2:28 pm

    RT @SusanWhitcomb: Would you sacrifice privacy to get the job? http://bit.ly/dSW2tl via @GayleHoward

    Reply
  9. Teri Meeks says

    January 30, 2011 at 2:05 am

    Social Media Privacy: Overrated or Mandatory? http://bit.ly/dSW2tl via @GayleHoward

    Reply
  10. Anonymous says

    May 8, 2011 at 1:08 am

    I don’t have a Facebook page, and not because I have anything to hide. I am on LinkedIn, have just recently established both a blog and a twitter account. But I just don’t have enough time to do all that I have to do and keep up with all that and a Facebook page too.

    Reply

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