I saw a joke on Twitter recently: a guy with a shocked face & a caption:
That moment in a job interview when you realise they’ve been looking at your social networks… #theapprentice pic.twitter.com/pTJKZFomc9
— The Apprentice (@bbcapprentice) December 16, 2015
Do You Care If Employers See Your Social Media Accounts?
I don’t.
Full disclosure: I rarely put them on job applications, because they’re not relevant for most jobs I go for! The only time I include them is when I’ve applied for a job relating to writing or social media. Then I include them for obvious reasons; to showcase what I’ve taught myself over my years of various types of writing online.
I wish I could say this judgement about online activities was new.
But speaking of various types of online writing, back when I first left high school in 2002, I was very active in the Harry Potter fandom via Fiction Alley. I heard through grapevines about people being denied jobs because they wrote fan fiction. I had no idea how that was legal. I still don’t. Apparently it was because fan fiction might put off clients of the company from working with them, which might lose them business, which means they might not hire you just in case. #Dodgy
Side note: Fiction Alley Park (the forums) were the best moderated place I’ve ever been & a good introduction to the Internet. In fact, they are the standard I hold everything to today. If you can’t reply in somewhat of a proper sentence and argue calmly, logically & reasonably, then I generally unfollow. That is the reason I’ve given up writing some types of posts – because I don’t like the idea of writing a post where I can’t read the comments.
So why don’t I care if employers see my social media accounts?
Simply because it’s none of their business.
What I do outside of work is my business. Unless you’re paying me 24/7, what I do is my business. Just because I happen to share some of it online is a side note in my book. This doesn’t mean I don’t think people might find me online, read things I’ve written, and judge me on it. But it does mean that if people are so judgemental that they don’t like that you have something you do outside of work…well that’s good. Judge me, but you don’t sound like people I want to work for.
Do you care if your employers see your social media accounts?
My personal social media is just that – personal. I’ve never friended employers, although I have a few former workmates as SM friends. I’m also careful what I post online, I tell my teenagers, if you wouldn’t want your Grandma to see it or read it, don’t post it!
I’m the same, I have some former workmates on personal facebook, but no current ones. I think spending a working week with people (even the nicest people!) is enough 🙂
I try to keep the two separate – I have two Facebook accounts, one for me (and my blog), and then another more vanilla account for people at work who want to ‘friend’ me. I agree it’s none of their business. Unless I’m bad mouthing my employer – that’s a different story!
Oh of course, if you’re bad mouthing them you’re probably going to feel some consequences!
Hmmm, I do agree that you deserve to have a personal life, but anything that you choose to put online is public information (just the way the internet works!) and people need to be aware that their current or future employers might come across it, either on purpose or not. It’s great if people don’t care, but then they need to own the consequences if something was to happen.
The other main thing, is that a lot of people put their company on their FB, IG etc profile, and that is definitely blurring the lines of public vs private! Then it becomes an issue of how you are representing the company you work for.
It’s so hard to find the balance between public vs private these days when most of our lives are online isn’t it?
Oh yep, I’m fully aware that anyone I work with could and may possibly read this and my other blogs. I think the only social media that lists where I work is LinkedIn, and I barely keep that up to date. I mean, stalk someone long enough online and you could probably work out where it was anyway… which I guess kind of circles back to your public vs private point really!
Even on my ‘personal’ social media channels (as opposed to blog- or work-related accounts), I don’t post things I’d worry about an employer seeing. I don’t treat Facebook as an online journal or anything like that. So no, I don’t care, but if they tried sneaky tactics to see my personal page in particular, and went digging beyond that which is public, I’d wonder why, and possibly question my decision to work there.
This is me too. I only publish stuff that I would say to anyone in public anyway (LOL) but I think that people have a right to privacy and I think it is a very ethical grey area. If you have a public profile though I guess it’s going to happen.
That you would say anyway…well yep that summarises it well for me too 🙂
In this day and age I think you have to be smart about what you put online in social media and have set to public! It’s not just employers but landlords and the likes too! I don’t care because I have nothing to hide but some people are just idiots! I’ve read so many media stories lately of people complaining about how they can’t get a rental property and people simply go to their Facebook and find out pretty quickly why!
I guess that’s the thing too – if you’re doing something dodgy and put it online then well duh, it might bite you in the ass.
I think if people are going to post questionable stuff on their social media then they really need to not put where they work. A friend lost her job at Maccas after she posted a selfie of herself working drive through, saying that she was bored. One of her workmates actually showed the boss while she was still on shift, which I thought was pretty dodgy.
That’s kind of ironic – the workmate was clearly on social media at work at the time too!
No I don’t care. This is who I am. If that’s a problem, then you probably don’t want to hire me.
I have never heard of fiction alley, although I’m not a huge fan of fan fiction. I’ve always preferred doing things my own way.
Yep, that’s how I view it. I’m me. I don’t have the time or energy for facades, at work or online! Fiction Alley was very Harry Potter specific, so unless you were super into it, it’s unlikely most people have heard of it!
I don’t really mind as there is nothing to hide but my personal account is just that personal & more photo’s of the kids etc so I’d hope that they wouldn’t have access to it but no problem with the blog one.
When I worked for a boss, there was no way I wanted them to see my social media … but then I couldn’t stand my last boss!
I’m doing split policy and spilt freelance writing now. So my personal policy is everything is out there to see and I am careful about what i post. I work in Government so I am always careful and transparent about what is on there and can’t write political stuff as it would pose a conflict.