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Social Media and Careers

Smilephantomhive

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How does making an unanonymous social media account help and/or hurt your ability to get a job. Or does it even do anything at all? I'm asking this because I was wondering if I should start posting on my unanonymous twitter account.
 

ceecee

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A un-anonymous social media account can end your career, depending on what you post. Your social media footprint is more and more likely to be investigated when you apply for jobs too. And it may not be you but people you follow/friend that cause issues as well. I don't use FB for this reason, I'm careful about who I follow on Twitter and what I tweet (very minimal, less than a couple a year) and I use no other social media, except Linkedin, which is professional.
 

Smilephantomhive

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A un-anonymous social media account can end your career, depending on what you post. Your social media footprint is more and more likely to be investigated when you apply for jobs too. And it may not be you but people you follow/friend that cause issues as well. I don't use FB for this reason, I'm careful about who I follow on Twitter and what I tweet (very minimal, less than a couple a year) and I use no other social media, except Linkedin, which is professional.

I would certaintly be very careful, and not use it as liberally as my other accounts. Do you think it would be fine if I don't use one at all?
 

ceecee

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I would certaintly be very careful, and not use it as liberally as my other accounts. Do you think it would be fine if I don't use one at all?

Why wouldn't it be fine if you didn't use one at all?
 

Smilephantomhive

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Why wouldn't it be fine if you didn't use one at all?

Idk, I was just thinking that they would rather know what the people they hire were up to. That was more of an assumption on my part. Glad to hear that that shouldnt be an issue.
 

ceecee

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Idk, I was just thinking that they would rather know what the people they hire were up to. That was more of an assumption on my part. Glad to hear that that shouldnt be an issue.

The only thing I have ever heard professionally about my lack of social media footprint is surprise. Nothing negative.

They want to know if the people they hire are going to cause them negative attention/cost them money prior to being hired. It's far easier to simply not hire someone when it's very plain they are a fuck up. It's more messy to have to fire them for the same reason.
 

Poki

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We have strict rules about social media, to the point where we are not even suppose to put or mention our employer. If it is known in normal convo there is other stuff we are suppose to put. I only do Facebook and that is set to friends only. No worries, i dont even have alot of friends on there and most are family anyway.
 

ceecee

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Do you mind stating what field you're in? I wasn't aware that who you're associated with on social media could backfire. I, however, had the impression that lack of social media presence was a negative. Seems kind of counter-intuitive if employers want you to have a social media, but then require that you dress it up professionally; kind of defeats the purpose. I'm ofc talking about the more casual social media outlets, such as FB or Twitter. Linkedin is ofc a more professional oriented site.

Healthcare IT.
 

Yuurei

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I would certaintly be very careful, and not use it as liberally as my other accounts. Do you think it would be fine if I don't use one at all?

I do not, and would not ever use my real name on any social media. Hell, I hardly use it at alll. It's a Goddamned plague that brings out the very worst in humanity. I have a FB to keep in touch with certain business and groups I cannot otherwise keep in touch with. That's it.
 

Coriolis

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Idk, I was just thinking that they would rather know what the people they hire were up to. That was more of an assumption on my part. Glad to hear that that shouldnt be an issue.
If employers want to know what applicants are up to, they can ask, or research their references. A social media account is like letting a hiring supervisor listen in on your personal phone calls, and observe you at family gatherings, girls/guys night out, and other social events. This is none of their business, which is why it should not be public.

If an employer considers it a negative not to be on social media, then that is not an employer I want to work for.
 

Jaq

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If employers want to know what applicants are up to, they can ask, or research their references. A social media account is like letting a hiring supervisor listen in on your personal phone calls, and observe you at family gatherings, girls/guys night out, and other social events. This is none of their business, which is why it should not be public.

If an employer considers it a negative not to be on social media, then that is not an employer I want to work for.

I agree with this so hard.
 

Doctor Cringelord

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The only social media that employers should be looking at is linkedin, since it's actually tailored to careers, job opportunities and professional networking. Were I a hiring manager, I'd have no desire to look at potential candidates' facebook. That's invasive. What they like or do in their life is irrelevant unless it affects their ability to perform their job duties competently. It should be illegal for companies to us people's social media posts when considering them as job candidates. Exceptions could be made for sites like linkedin.

As an aside, I never friend co-workers or bosses on facebook and I don't understand why so many people I work with do this. I also keep my account set so only people I've friended see my wall and posts. Although I rarely post or go on facebook anymore anyway and were it not for all of the distant friends and relatives it helps me stay in touch with, I'd probably delete my account.
 

ceecee

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The only social media that employers should be looking at is linkedin, since it's actually tailored to careers, job opportunities and professional networking. Were I a hiring manager, I'd have no desire to look at potential candidates' facebook. That's invasive. What they like or do in their life is irrelevant unless it affects their ability to perform their job duties competently. It should be illegal for companies to us people's social media posts when considering them as job candidates. Exceptions could be made for sites like linkedin.

As an aside, I never friend co-workers or bosses on facebook and I don't understand why so many people I work with do this. I also keep my account set so only people I've friended see my wall and posts. Although I rarely post or go on facebook anymore anyway and were it not for all of the distant friends and relatives it helps me stay in touch with, I'd probably delete my account.

LinkedIn has gotten bad in the last year or so, it's more and more like Facebook, I really wanted it to remain professional. But I agree that employers can and will go too far which is why workers should look to unions, not the government, to stop this invasive bullshit. It's going to continue to get worse the more authoritarian things become.
 

Doctor Cringelord

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LinkedIn has gotten bad in the last year or so, it's more and more like Facebook, I really wanted it to remain professional. But I agree that employers can and will go too far which is why workers should look to unions, not the government, to stop this invasive bullshit. It's going to continue to get worse the more authoritarian things become.

Yeah, I've noticed people sharing more "cutesy" shit, inspirational quote type stuff, and a lot of posts that seem to verge on unprofessional. I keep mine very clean, just focus on keeping my job history up to date and easy to read. I don't really post, but I do occasionally go on and add people I work with or people I see in my field.
 

Doctor Cringelord

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Even with marijuana being legalized in more and more states, I don't think that's something I'd be openly talking about on social media. Still kind of a taboo thing and has an association with laziness and forgetfulness, even though I know a lot of closet stoners that don't really come across as the stereotypical stoner type and are quite able to function in a professional setting.

For instance, one of my old bosses was married to a cop. And the comments I hear in passing from certain coworkers and higherups show there's still a lot of people who have a very negative view of marijuana, even though a lot of those same people will openly talk about getting shit faced and laugh about their alcohol-related stories. :dry:
 

Warrior

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For instance, one of my old bosses was married to a cop. And the comments I hear in passing from certain coworkers and higherups show there's still a lot of people who have a very negative view of marijuana, even though a lot of those same people will openly talk about getting shit faced and laugh about their alcohol-related stories. :dry:
Alcohol and interest are the mother and father of all evils. Pretty much everyone in high school thought marijuana should be legalized. we had a classroom discussion, and it ranged from legalizing and regulating marijuana and cannabis, to legalizing all drugs like portugal, and having someone guide you on a trip. still not for me though (to use). but back to the main topic, i only recently started using linkedin, but i can relate to it being cheesy. and not to mention i used to try to add friends and crushes on there. yeah.....not a good idea.
 

Tomb1

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I never arrived at an interest in Social Media. I'm still in the who gives a fuck stage.
 

Burning Paradigm

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The role of social media in the job-hiring process might be changing a little bit, and younger employers and companies might not care as much as traditional corporate structures. I certainly believe that social media, with the exception of LinkedIn and any professional accounts I volunteer, should be none of my employer's business. It's very personal, and if my employer makes a decision based on the opinions or thoughts I espouse after-hours, that's not somewhere or someone I want to work for. But, it's still generally a good idea to be cautious. On Twitter, for example, while I have my IRL profile picture, my name and handle are anonymized to where I can't be tracked just in case.
 

theablekingedgar

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Let people see what they wish, IMHO.
It shoudl be measured over general productivity. If a person isn't very productive, and this is caused by social media use, then it's an issue.
 
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