Millennials grew up in the advent of the social media phenomenon and were the proverbial “guinea pigs” of the technology. With all of the successes and excitement also came the consequences from liberally sharing information. According to Dan Schawbel, the founder of Millennial Branding, a greater number of recruiters than ever before are searching for their applicants on Facebook. The primary reasons include narrowing down the pile of candidates, searching for candidates who have a good “personality fit”, as well as ensuring that the candidate does not have any compromising photos or posts, which demonstrates poor judgement. Even subtle nuances, like whether or not the candidate complains in their posts can be viewed in a negative light (Ford, 2012).
In much the same way that recruiters ask candidates to provide references to gain insight, searching for the candidate’s online profile is another validation method. Whether or not it is ethical for recruiters to engage in this type of invasive, and even discriminatory, practice is not the question here; it can be inferred that if a candidate has an online social media profile, this is part of their overall personal brand that they must manage carefully because if it’s on on the web, it should be assumed that it’s in public view. This recent problem has sprouted new business ventures to assist Millennials in reversing their online mistakes, including a website called simplewa.sh (formerly facewa.sh) for Millennials to “scrub” their online Facebook profiles clean of potentially compromising material. The fact that millennial branding services, “facewashing” sites and other online and in-class resources are available to remove damaging content from the web demonstrates Millennials’ temporary shift and even “blip” in privacy considerations and the increased desire for young professionals to be more mindful of their privacy on Facebook.
Source:
Ford, E. (2012, November 15). Beware the Facebook x-factor; Saucy photos or rude comments could haunt you at interview. The Times, 10, pp.10.
This post is an excerpt from Privacy on Facebook: Fundamental Privacy Principles Prevail by Diana Brown (2013).
This is so interesting Diana. It seems it is too easy for people to post information/images that they would not want potential employers to see. But, what this really highlights for me, is that people have their profiles public!! Really, if we're talking about Facebook and people see things one wouldn't want shared - well then, keep your profile private. Now that would really show prospective employers a certain level of digital savviness.
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