Aaron Strout in Boston Globe
The Boston Globe this morning “Working the Network” about how employers are and job seekers are using social networking. It prominently features Aaron Strout of Mzinga (on twitter, he’s astrout and definitely worth following – I do…) .
The salient point in the article is that we need to be very careful what we put on line now. The article, quoting a recent college grad:
“I had this great bikini shot from my honeymoon in April that I wanted to post on Facebook, but I thought, wait a minute, you never know who’s going to be looking at you,” says Lindsey Pollak, a New York-based career advice blogger active on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn who is the author of “Getting from College to Career.”
Some students have lost job offers because of inappropriate Web content, says Maria Stein, director of career services at Northeastern University. Recently, a Northeastern student commented on MySpace that she was going to accept a job at a company that didn’t thrill her. After a friend also posted a derogatory comment about the prospective employer, the company rescinded the student’s job offer. “No matter what site they’re on, we’re always telling them to be mindful of what they put on,” says Stein.
I’ve been walking a precarious line for a while. Just yesterday I realized that my bosses boss is now following me on Twitter. That might cause most of us a bit of concern, but the truth is that I’m pretty much a “WYSIWYG” guy, and that’s one of the reasons they hired me in the first place. I don’t blow smoke and I’m speak up when I think somethings wrong. To his credit, he’s one of the few guys in upper management I ever knew who was capable listening and acting on what his experts tell him.
So unless you’re looking for a job as a tattoo artist or a stripper, best to leave the pictures of your ink work or that shot of the rugby team doing belly shots on you off your blog, Facebook, etc.
4 thoughts on “Aaron Strout in Boston Globe”
Mark,
Thanks for your thoughts on this topic. It’s one that’s near and dear to my heart. In addition to recommending that people keep an eye on what the post to their public facing social networks, I was also suggesting that using these tools can be a huge help to both people looking for jobs, and those looking for employees.
My original post on this subject is here (note, this takes you to my corp. blog. I’m not trying to push traffic over to our site but thought it relevant to the subject matter): http://www.mzinga.com/en/Community/Blogs/Aaron-Strout/Hiring-in-a-2.0-World/
Thanks again Mark.
Best,
Aaron | @astrout
Great point – I remember before I was hired for my current gig, the headhunter asked me for info and I was in the process of traveling to DC. I told her to have the prospect check out my blog. The next morning I was pre-vetted, and the morning after that I’d interviewed (at 7am) for the job and by noon I was hired.
We’re currently looking for a junior web analytics person, so I contacted my friend Judah Phillips and we ended up using the Facebook Web Analytics group to track down good applicants.
Thanks Mark for posting this article! I know personally that clients of mine search google and other sites for information about prospective employees. The internet is a poweful tool..it can be good to you but can bite you also. Great information!
This is the story with the Internet. If you think you have any privacy, think again. Because the internet will indeed keep data of what you do, and also what other people see you do.
If you live in the connected world, you are just like all these stars with paparazzi following them. Anybody taking a picture of you somewhere is able to upload that picture, or mention your name one way or another, with or without your knowledge, and you end up in search results. And while your friends may not think they are doing anything wrong (after all you were at that party doing whatever you were doing), it may hurt you if looked at without context. Good or bad, it’s already too late to go back. All you can do is be aware, and behave yourself.
Life in the internet age…