How Private is Your Online Life
The New York Times recently reported on a growing trend for recruiters and companies to conduct an online search of candidates prior to hiring. According to the article:
"Many companies that recruit on college campuses have been using search engines like Google and Yahoo to conduct background checks on seniors looking for their first job. But now, college career counselors and other experts say, some recruiters are looking up applicants on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Xanga and Friendster, where college students often post risqué or teasing photographs and provocative comments about drinking, recreational drug use and sexual exploits in what some mistakenly believe is relative privacy."
And we thought that we had to warn people about tattoos and body piercings. As lives become more and more public with details being disclosed by individuals on the internet onto these networking sites, undoubtedly there ends up being a conflict between what an employer may view as poor judgment and an applicant, such as a recent college graduate, viewing as just fun. When was the last time you Googled yourself?