Ever been stung?Yahoo wrote:Can stuff that's written online about me affect my chances of a job later on?
"Kyle Doyle is not going to work, f*** it, I'm still trashed. SICKIE, WOO!" Woo, indeed - until his boss found out.
Just a few months ago, Kyle Doyle learnt the hard way that nothing online is truly private. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, after a big night out, he decided to skip work - and make it quite clear on his Facebook page, by setting it as his status. Soon this was doing the rounds at work via email, and then it made its way to his manager.
And he's not the only employee who has been busted on social networking sites, saying and revealing things he shouldn't. In the UK, for example, the airline Virgin Atlantic has just sacked 13 flight attendants for saying their planes aren't safe and are full of "cockroaches". They also called their passengers "chavs" (the UK equivalent of bogans).
But it's not just employees that this is having an impact on. I think most at risk are people going for jobs. A recent survey in the US found 20 per cent of employers will Google applicants before they hire them, and a third of those employers admitted they rejected applicants after what they found.
Although legally employers aren't allowed to discriminate against people based on their personal lives, they do. Think about it - if there were 10 people applying for a job, and three had galleries of them being stupid at parties - will the employer be rushing to hire them? I think not.
Gaynor Lowndes, a recruitment manager says, "Recruiters absolutely use your networking sites to make judgements about you," and went on to say she's seen cases where job offers have been retracted because of what employers have found online. She suggests, "If you want to keep it private, keep it off the web."
Stephanie Rice also learnt the hard way. When she rose to prominence earlier this year, the media scavenged her net-footprint - finding anything they could that would create media headlines. The next day, splashed across the pages of the biggest newspapers in the nation, were pictures of her goofing around at parties, giving the media space to label her whatever they wanted.
And lawyers are also showing interest. When someone's involved in a court case, lawyers may search for opposing parties on the internet to find anything damaging that they can. If they do, they can then use it to tarnish the character of others in court, boosting their case. So even though you mightn't think about it now, in 10 or 20 years time, if you're ever involved in a court case, what's online could be used against you.
The message is to always think b4 you click, and be aware of your online footprint. Before you put things on the net, ask yourself: What would my parents/teachers think of this? What would potential employers think of this?
Even though you can set things to private, you have no guarantee that they will remain that way. It's as simple as someone who has access to your private profile saving the page and posting it somewhere else. Essentially, once you put something online, it's out of your hands.
And it's not just what you put online about yourself, but what others put up there too. Anyone can take and post pictures or information online about you. Try typing your name in quotes into Google (e.g. "Tom Wood") and if you're not happy with what you find, get it removed. You can do this by asking the person who posted it, and if they refuse then contact whoever runs the website, and report it.
My final suggestion is, considering employers use your net-footprint to make judgements about you, you may be able to use it to your advantage. If you're going for a job, you could add to your profile that you're really passionate about the position, company or something similar!
Kyle Doyle probably wished he set his status as him actually being sick. If only he knew how far his status could spread...
Do you manage your footprint?
Are you concerned about your foot print.
Tips and tricks to manage it?
