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Should MySpace be used for Professional Purposes?
Reputation Branding
posted 01-31-2009 Average Rating: Register or log in to rate this article. It's fast and free.
It seems more common these days to do a Google search on a potential new hire. In doing that, the most authroitative links will come up, generally pointing to a person's personal networking profiles. Should an employer find a person's MySpace or Facebook account, how much should they rely on the information provided on those profiles in making a judgment on the person?

It is easy to assume that a person regularly updates their profiles and stays conscious of the content they are making publibly available. But in doing that, the employer is generalizing certain users into the mix of the population that do not do this. Tha being said, if I had a MySpace account in college that hasn't been updated since, is it fair to judge my professional appearance based on photos and other content from years past?

There are networking sites that should be off limits in the professional world, so as to give a person not only a personal life, but also the freedom from pre-judgment.



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4 comments | view all
avatar
   Posted by spoincey, 05-13-2009

I respectfully disagree that there are networking sites that should be off
limits. If a person puts personal information onto a website that is open to
the public, then that person has no expectation of privacy whatsoever. I know
that in the world we currently inhabit, we forget about the fact that we are a
nation of laws which are based in the Constitution in which our actual rights
are ennumerated. And in that august document it is clear that those things done
in public are automatically for public consumption. So, if one puts something
on a MySpace website, one is foolish to think that a potential employer might
see it. And it is equally naive to think that what the employer finds on that
MySpace website wouldn't have some effect on their decision to hire that person
or not.
avatar
   Posted by techmonger, 05-11-2009

Whenever and wherever information can be gathered on someone, if someone has
need to know about that person, any public display of that persons'information,
specially if they have displayed that info themselves, is fair game in branding
people. My Space and other social networking sites allow people to determin how
public they want their profiles to be. If a person can't log onto their profile
to click a dot then whatever message their profile sends out is what they
deserve to be sent out , good or bad, and it's fair game.
At the
same time, an educated researcher or potential employer will have brains enough
on how to allow old information on a person to influence the mosaic they create
on someone.
In short, update your profiles or link to new ones. Create
your own brand of self with information displayed publicly that generates the
image of yourself that you would want Mom to be proud of. And remember that if
it's on the internet, it can be found by anyone, anytime, and it's fair game!
avatar
   Posted by tboggs, 05-06-2009

I understand where the author is coming from. If you forget about a site you
had a long time ago and do not use it anymore should it be held against you?
The answer is no, but this is not the way things happen. In today's world you
need to make sure your tracks are covered by Googling yourself every now and
then to see what pops up. Especially if you are looking for a job.

What we
think should happen and what does are two different things. Every person needs
to manage their own public appearance no matter what their private one is. A
first impression goes a long way in either direction and you cannot make a
second one. So make sure what is in the public eye is clean.
avatar
   Posted by Dwalk, 05-06-2009

I understand where you are going with this, however, I believe it is the
responsibility of the potential employee to cover their tracks and make their
profiles private. It is widely know that employers are now reviewing these
profiles and there is nothing stopping them from doing so. If an employee is
worried that they may have content on their profile that may be offensive or
depict a lifestyle from which most employers would not want to bring into their
company setting, well that is the employees fault.

I do not agree or
disagree that these websites should be used for gathering information. All that
I am saying is people are well aware that it happens and they can take the
necessary steps to insure their profiles do not show things that are
inappropriate. When you post something on the web for people to view - people
will view it.

David

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