Facebook is the 2nd most popular website in the world. People are constantly updating their status, sharing photos, and checking their friends' status . This idea of sharing updates and posting pictures has literally changed our lives and the world we live in. Facebook has penetrated almost every aspect of our lives: school (remember the days when you had to have a .edu email address to sign up for Facebook?) family, church, community, and even the workplace. This last area, the workplace, is perhaps the most controversial: how should your online social life fit in to your professional world?
Earlier this week,
this article highlighted just how important and controversial Facebook has become as employers try to hire the best candidate for a job.
More employers want to know exactly what you do on your social media accounts. And the best way for them to see your online activity? Get your password.
It's becoming a more common request, but not all applicants are okay with it. But can you blame them? Isn't that personal information? And do employers have the right to ask that?
From an employer's perspective, I understand wanting to peruse candidates' social media sites. After recently participating in a hiring process, we did use Facebook profiles (after resumes) to filter out the best candidates. Looking at profile pages gave us the chance to see if there was any glaring "problems" with the candidate. If there were obvious problems, they were no longer considered for interview, saving us time and money. Facebook truly can be a great time-saver for employers to use when narrowing down the field of candidates—if you can access their profile.
On the other hand, Facebook users can enhance security settings letting you control who sees your profile. It is your personal profile and you have the right to decide who has access to it and who does not. If you use these security settings and have a private profile, employers can't access your profile without first getting your permission. If you don't have a private profile, employers can get a better sense of who you are, for better or worse, simply by searching for you on Facebook. If you do have a private profile, prepare yourself to get asked about it in your next job interview. The interviewer might even goes so far as to ask for your login and password information.
Bosses want to know exactly who you are—both at the job and online. But is that right? How do you think employers and employees should handle this Facebook dilemma?
Most workers have to clock in overtime at some point (or multiple points) in their careers, and they do so for a variety of reasons. It could be because of a big project with a tight deadline, the desire to make time-and-a-half or the nature of the job. Others work long hours just because they are workaholics. Yet if you're finding yourself working late into the evening most nights, you may be harming your health.
