Almost everyone who uses the internet will have some kind of social networking profile - it's how we in the modern age connect to our old friends, and branch out to new ones. But how are these profiles affecting our working lives? Just how much do employers take these into account? A study by OnDevice research reports that 9% of UK respondents aged 16-24 have been rejected because of comments or pictures on their profile, and as many as 16% in China. (Source: OnDevice) Even more worryingly, one individual has been rejected for a job based on his Klout score. (If you're asking yourself what this is, it's probably a reasonable indication of the absurdity.) Lauren Fisher, who reports on this scandal, believes that employers who scour the social media profiles of potential candidates have only 'a limited understanding of what the information they're finding really means' and that the act itself 'constitutes overstepping the mark' (Source: SimplyZesty)
What many people do not realise, is that everything you post online remains there, laying dormant until it is discovered. Most profiles are harmless enough, but should you fill yours with drunken photographs or worse - are you prepared for what the consequences could be? The TUC’s Worksmart website, quoted in bdaily.co.uk, states that ‘(employers) wouldn’t follow an employee down the pub to check on what they said to their friends about their day at work. Just because they can do something like this online, doesn’t mean they should’ (Source: bdaily) Perhaps employers feel that the internet has given them a valuable tool which takes the mystery of the client out of the recruitment selection - but doesn't everyone have the right to a seperate work and personal life?
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