Between February and March 2012 Harrison interactive on behalf of Careerbuilder.com conducted a survey among 2,303 hiring managers and human resource professionals regarding the use of social media for hiring processes. Reasons for the use of social media were to see if the candidate presents themselves professionally, if they are a good fit in the company culture, if there is more information about their qualifications, if they are well rounded, and if there are reasons not to hire them. 37% of companies surveyed conduct this practice and were primarily using Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Applicants were hurt if there was info of them drinking or using drugs, bad mouthing a previous employer, posting inappropriate photos, discriminatory comments and lying about qualifications. However, there is a possible benefit. Some of the surveyed employers said that they found something they liked while looking through their candidates social media account. Regardless of the outcome, it is clear that what you post on your social media has a good chance of impacting your employment opportunities.
We have all heard “Be careful of what you post on the internet!” But were these social sites created in order to sculpt ourselves online to be the perfect candidate for a job, or to keep in touch with friends? Are we supposed constantly be paranoid of a picture from last night that a friend might post and tag you in, or would it be smarter to not go out or do anything that would be deemed improper conduct by a future employer? Do we have to constantly worry about what someone might say someday about something posted on the internet, preventing me from gaining the job you want? This form of surveillance in our social life raises questions like this, and how I see it leaves us only two options: 1) Sacrifice your online social life and be completely safe. 2) Maintain your online social media, constantly policing yourself, paranoid about what you say and post and what others say and post about you.
Regardless of what you choose, your decision is shaped by the social architecture created by social media. The social architecture created from this type of surveillance forces you to make a decision that you would normally not if you knew that your social life was safe from possibly being used against you. In Supervision, authors John Gilliom and Torin Monahan discuss the effects of surveillance. “…surveillance architecture creates frequently hidden dynamics of inclusion and exclusion.” (35). Things that you may forget to omit on your website can consequently have an effect on one of the most important types of inclusion and exclusion, employment. I understand that an employer wants to know that they are hiring the right person, but looking into our personal lives via social media to see if we match their standards is wrong. There are other ways to find out the character of a person, and spying on us and our friends is not the one. Personally, thanks to things like this, I have made the choice to remove myself from the social media world.
I don't know how it would be possible for you to make the choice to remove yourself from the social media world (although good luck to you and your effort). Part of the social architecture that the authors discussed shows how ingrained it is in our society and how social media is a big way that we can (if not HAVE to) participate in our social lives. I think it's great some social media (like LinkedIn) can be helpful to show the good things about candidates - many interests, well-rounded, or creative. Yet, it seems like too much to expect to find a Facebook profile that shows how "professional" we look given that I see it as a more casual social networking site. - Anita Wu
ReplyDeleteAlthough it is definitely alarming to hear that employers are relying so much on social media websites to make hiring decisions, it would also be difficult to argue that an individual's profile is something personal and should completely off limits. As Gilliom and Monahan state, surveillance is integrated into every aspect of modern life. As users of social media, we need to accept that our internet profile is not something separate from our public identity. While there should definitely be a limit to how far back into our lives an employer will search, we should also become more responsible in our use of social media. - Yo Kamiya
ReplyDeleteGood job, Yunus!
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is frightening and upsetting to see that any person (especially persons who have such great control over our lives) could get great insight into our personal life through social media content. I, too, am constantly trying to avoid social media sites such as Facebook, Pinterest, etc., but as Gilliom and Monahan's concept of social architecture reveals this kind of surveillance is too ingrained into our everyday life to completely boycott social media while still participating as a functioning part in society. However, I don't believe that passive acceptance of ubiquitous surveillance is the right direction for our society to go. The development of almost unrestrained surveillance is definitely a by-product of a fairly new information and technology society, and I believe that we just have not found the proper implementation of control yet. But I am positive we will.
--Michaela Pluskovich
Some interesting points are brought up in the blog post, as well as the comments afterwards. I like the fact pointed out that surveillance is integrated into every aspect of modern life. And I completely agree that our social media profiles are not something separate from our public identity, they are indeed a big part of our public identity as they are arguably the most easy to access. A point I wanted to bring up about sacrificing your online social life and being "completely safe," even in doing this, your employers can make assumptions about you, that you're hiding something, that you're socially inept, etc. It could be one reason or another, but not having social media profile can convey other information to prospective employers or anyone else looking into you.
ReplyDelete-Daniel Francis
This blog post brings up many interesting points about how social media is now being used by employers to check out what a job applicant may be up to outside of the work force. Although it is an invasion of privacy and most people think our social media profiles shouldn't affect whether or not we get a job, but if you think about it, it can be really useful to an employer to be able to see if the applicant really is who they say they are, or if they seem to be work oriented or not. These things can be found on a social media account. I don't think it should necessarily be a deciding factor when it comes to hiring people for a job, but I think it is okay for an employer to do a little "facebook stalking" just to see what the candidate may really be about.
ReplyDeleteThese are great posts and I think that this topic is very interesting. Being a student-athlete, I have been taught to not have anything on social media that could misrepresent our school or team. After three years, I eventually gave up on trying to protect an image and just deleted all my social media, and it has been much less stressful since then. It's very interesting to see how much social media has affected the way people live their lives, and how others see and judge them.
ReplyDeleteThis topic brings up a very interesting issue. I personally believe that a person's personal life decisions should not and need not be associated with their business life. The same way students at a University are able to separate their social lives and still maintain a focus on higher education. I think that businesses hiring should only pay attention to credentials and recommendations and not social life or personal opinions.
ReplyDelete-Eric Walbridge
Avoiding social media has definitely become a modern trend. Everyone I talk to about Facebook or other social media sites claims that staying away or limiting one’s exposure on the web is the right choice for all the reasons stated in the Yunus’ blog and previous comments. At the same time, however, when I say that I have never had a Facebook account I feel I am being portrayed almost as an outcast. I do believe that using social media has become a regular form of communication for most individuals of our society, and when people decide to “sacrifice their online social lives” it is not due to lack of options, but it is rather a conscious choice. Mariola Bak.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that the extent of the social media as a device of surveillance is a bit unsettling. These social media websites are similar to the use of cell phones as described in Gilliom’s article. Like cell phones, the use of these social media websites are voluntary but are part of the social architecture. Thus (in agreement with Anita’s comment) making it almost impossible to completely eliminate oneself from the social media world.
ReplyDeleteBut unlike cell phones, social media websites like Facebook are designed to publicize what is going on in our lives to other people. Plus we choose what to post online and whether it is public or private. So, if you choose to have information to be public, employers should be able to access that information.
- Tiffani Toy
Recognition of how these media are tapped into by potential employers seems to be catching on with your generation and may be why new social media are emerging to provide a buffer against this. Nice hook into Gilliom and Monahan. mm
ReplyDeleteSurveillance and the social architecture increasingly must suffice in place of individual discretion and accountability. The members of societies that presume to be so advanced and progressive increasingly fail to exemplify the virtues necessary in creating a safe environment. The proliferation of surveillance and policing in the private sphere is, at least in part, a reflection of the public sector's failure to maintain law and order. --Anton Kienast
ReplyDeleteGreat reference to the Gilliom and Monahan piece in showing how it relates to the type of surveillance going on that is created by the social media. I too agree that looking into ones social media account in order to make a judgment for employment purposes is a bit invasive and can become problematic. Employment life and social life are two different entities and should be treated as such. However, I also agree that if you engage in and are an active participant in the social media world, then you are accepting the fact that what you post online may not be fully private. Since social media is now a part of our generation it seems awkward not having some sort of account where information and ideas can be exchanged within a virtual community. But where is the line drawn when it comes to using these exchanged ideas for purposes other than sharing and discussing online?
ReplyDelete-Maria Perez
I agree with you, I really don't like that fact that employers can justify hiring or not hiring a person based on the content of a social media site. I like your use of the quotes as well I feel that it really drives home the point that you are making. I wish it were that easy to remove yourself from the social media world, I'm not sure its that easy though.
ReplyDeleteI think that you have definitely hit upon some great points in this post, Yunus. I am with Nate and many others in that I am uncomfortable with the fact that employers/potential employers can base hiring decisions on posted social media content. However as you have pointed out, the individual who is using the social media outlet is subjecting his/herself to this "inspection." I personally believe that this trend will deepen as Facebook and other social media giants fork over more user information/access to info to 3rd parties. It is already a major hot topic.
ReplyDelete-Amir
Yunus, great article and nice reference to the reading. I agree with you, it is wrong for companies to use social media content to base their hiring decisions on. Social private life does not ascribe to work ethics. I agree with Amir's comment in regards to that this trend will deepen with social media giants give up more user information and give greater access to 3rd parties unless there is some regulation of this.
ReplyDelete-Yevgeniy Rokhin
I don't think it's about removing yourself. The choices you presented delineate a commonly promulgated dichotomy. That either we partake in socializing and submit to SOCIALIZATION (internally/externally) or we remove ourselves completely. It's unfortunate that we have to believe that corporations and governments can infringe on the rights of the people and we believe our only options are submit or surrender. You offered an interesting alternative that you quickly denounced- to use social media to our advantage. Well, what if you lived your life in harmony so that everything you do and stand for is portrayed in your daily life. We need to stand up for our social media content. Corporations have found a way to exploit our social capital using ads and giving away our information. Facebook records the things you life and the places you go. Corporations and entities are creating our date doubles to determine how they treat different classes and ethnic groups. We need to be more conscious of the content we upload and hold ourselves accountable as well.
ReplyDelete-Teresa Martinez
DeleteAmir,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post. You posit the option of trying to minimize one's online presence as a means of evading surveillance. While it is certainly true that there will be less tangible incriminating evidence if one does this, this strategy is not without it's consequences. I remember not too long ago I was in an interview for an internship in the city and the interviewer seemed more than suspicious about the fact that I didn't have a Facebook account altogether, essentially implying that I actually had something to hide. Needless to say, I didn't get the internship. Perhaps I am not the only one who has experienced this discrimination. I think it is becoming increasingly expected of to have an online presence. It may be the case that those fail to keep up with this digital divulgence of information is increasingly being perceived as an active effort to conceal information. In other words, public and private entities are now increasingly aware that not having an online presence can be used as a strategy to conceal more illicit activities. Perhaps they are now suspicious of everyone who lacks an extensive online presence, assuming the worst of such individuals rather than giving them the benfit of the doubt.
Just Something to Consider,
-Andre
I find it crazy how accessible the internet is to anyone. Once information is put online, there is no way of permanently removing it. While the original poster has decided to remove himself completely from the cyberworld, I have decided to be extremely cautious. It is important to use the internet with caution. For instance, here in college I see plenty of students post pictures of them smoking marijuana or drinking underage. I find this to be foolish because those types of things can come and haunt you-- and clearly they did for those who were reprimanded through this study. It is unfortunate that our freedom is somewhat limited because we can always be watched. Especially, because, not trying to defend those who posted negative images, but some actually have great worth ethic, etc. In the end, it is about being conscious of what we put and what we say.
ReplyDelete-Genesis M. Garcia
I am one of those people who thinks that Facebook, twitter, Instagram, e.t.c are definitely fair game when it comes to an employer's wishes to hire you. I think that people who use PUBLIC media should never post anything that they would not feel very comfortable with the entire world knowing about it. Let alone a prospective employer. Posting something, anything, even on this blog is something one can't never take back. Once an idea, or a picture is out there for the world to see, it can never be taken back!
ReplyDelete-Celene Garnica
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ReplyDeleteSome employers are moving into using social media in hiring their employees. They monitor their potential employees activities via the social media and depending on the evaluation they make of the potential employees make a decision to hire or not to hire. They are therefore using it as a form of surveillance on the activities of the potential employees to judge their characters and behaviors. This helps in a way in getting the right employees.
ReplyDelete