Potential Employers DO Google You!
Google is the greatest screener available to a Human Resource department AND it's FREE! Why wouldn't they use every tool available to them to find that perfect employee?
So what's a perfect employee? Well, that depends on the job, but let's think about what the employee from hell looks like.
The Ranter - the person who goes on Facebook, Twitter, RateMyProfessor, or the myriad other social media outlets and rants about his or her job, friends, teachers, or parents. The last thing an employers wants is an employee with the potential to rant about their job, fellow employees, or boss!
The Grammatical Nincompoop - the person who can't be bothered spell checking or proofreading their posts. Think about it. Have you ever used Facebook--especially if you like text messaging language--and then go back and read how spell checker has changed your post? Yikes -- proofreading does pay off.
The Partier - really? Do you really need to be reminded not to post pics while chugging tequila in a tutu, or posting sexually explicit comments?
Take a minute to Google yourself and think about what a potential employer sees. Do you feel the need to scrub your social media accounts?
With social media becoming more popular in recent years, it is wise to be cautious about what you post online. Devil is in the details. Potential employers are in every likelihood to search their potential employees. Even a slight blemish such a could-be racist sentence or a strange picture could create a negative first impression for yourself before they even get to know you. Therefore, it is imperative to behave normally as if you would behave in reality, or at least try to control yourself before you get the job.
ReplyDeleteThis article is very accurate. I spoke with someone recently who works in a law firm-- and they immediately 'Google' all applicants before the interviewing/hiring process even begins. They expect you to be as professional as possible through social media sites. However, a huge website that employers are using to search you, is LinkedIn. Employers know that you can post on fun social media sites about what you ate for lunch that day, but can you post professionally about your career/education and can you network yourself? Sign up with LinkedIn to show your employer that you take social media seriously.
ReplyDeleteIt is not a surprise any more that potential employers google their potential employees. The more popular social network, the more individual can be exposed on the internet. Not only because of hiring, people should be aware of what they say and write on the internet. The virtual world is unable to hide what you did.
ReplyDeleteWhen I Google myself I see nothing of mine. Not my Facebook, twitter nor instgram not even a picture of myself. when I check under images I see a few pictures of Selena Gomez, who I love so that's flattering. But other then that its just a punch of random people. then I realized I don't use the name Angelique for social networking sites I use the name Angie. when I search Angie Gomez I do find that my twitter comes up number three on Google search. Which that can be a bad thing since I do rant often on there. Then I searched Angie Gomez on Facebook and mine does come up fifth on the page. I'm not worried at all about my Facebook since I never post anything on there any more. I only use it to post pictures ever once in a while and to keep in contact with family whom I don't see often. I guess if a potential employer wanted to search Angelique Gomez they wouldn't find me so I guess i have nothing to worry about. I only use Angelique for school and work and for everything else I'm Angie.
ReplyDeleteit is not surprising to me that employers google their employees. Since everyone uses social network, it is a nice way to know more about their candidate other than interviewing them. candidates' behaviors showed on social network always reflect their real personality and mindset. However when candidates are in interview, they might show a different behavior in order to get the job. Therefore it is better to make sure they are the perfect employees by searching them on internet. Next time when I post something on internet, I will be more caution about what I post.
ReplyDeleteI do not find it surprising in the least that employers google their possible employees. Looking at someone's Facebook page is the easiest, most efficient way to find out who someone is. I have been aware of this since senior year of high school and, therefore, do not feel the need to scrub my social media accounts. Not only has my mother been stalking my myspace and facebook accounts since I first made them, but I have been very cautious as to what I post and how it could affect me. It doesn't take a lot of time or effort to review something, so I highly consider doing so before displaying your personal life to the public.
ReplyDeleteI am well aware that employers google applicants before hiring them, but I've never actually taken the time to do it myself and see what comes up...until now. I just googled myself and am pleased to find that nothing but a fictional soap opera character pops up. And even if you put my name into facebook, it's the third one down. I'm actually really careful about what I post on facebook because I have family and co-workers as friends, so I'm definitely not afraid of what employers might find. But after clicking on my profile, it's nice to know that you can't see much except for my likes and basic information --things I'm totally fine with people seeing.
ReplyDeleteAll-in-all, I think employers are quite intelligent to search for prospective employees online and I think that people should be conscious of what they post no matter what... but it's a nice incentive to keep you in check.
Since social media is pretty much am everyday thing we use, it doesn't alarm me that employers do a search of your email provided to see what comes up. When my employer hires people, I know they do a check to see if they are saying anything about the company and if they violate the contract by posting inside information online. Your social media accounts say a lot about a person and that is why you have to be very careful of what you post online.
ReplyDeleteThis does not come as a surprise to me. I have been told by multiple teachers and advisors not to post anything on social networking sites that I don't want future employers to see. I don't post anything inappropriate on my accounts. In fact, I rarely post anything on Facebook. I only go on there to see what others are up to. The fact that they will try to Google me is useless because nothing pops up. The only accounts that do pop up is of someone with the same name in a different country or something. I don't think this will change what I post on Instagram or Facebook in the future because what I normally post is not offensive or inappropriate in any way.
ReplyDeleteIt's not surprising to me that potential job employers Google search their employees. I think it is necessary to look through their posts in order to get a feel for their employees, but they most social media website are mainly for FUN. Each social media is used to connect with friends, family, and even strangers. I do not think that employers should take everything they see on a persons social media page too seriously. Most people use the internet to unwind and show off to friends. There are few times when a person needs to be professional on a social media page. I do agree with Samantha B's comment though, If an employee wants to show their employer their professional side, then a LinkIn is the key to showing your employer that you can take social media and a job seriously.
ReplyDeleteI can relate with this article, because I have definitely done my research when the time came to recruit some people to collaborate with on certain projects. Being a former film major, I would meet different actors around campus, whom I would eventually become acquainted with, and then add them on Facebook. Once they add me, I "do my research". Does this person seem easy to work with? Does this person have a good reputation? Does this person complain a lot? I can usually get a sense of their personality by their status updates and their photos - it definitely saves time from figuring out what they're like in person. I think it's a convenient way to get to know a person, because I think that a truly conservative person would not post ridiculous things on the internet, even though millions of people do.
ReplyDeleteWith the amount of information potentially floating around out there on the internet, it's a little bit nerve wracking. I don't think I have anything to worry about, but it still makes me a bit uneasy nonetheless. I think something that we can all take from this is that we can't be too careful about the things we post on the internet. Big Brother is watching.
ReplyDeletewell its sad to say but I was working at a job, we wont say where but I was upset about doing inventory for the store so I went on face book and vented in a video I made. LOOKING BACK IT WASNT THE BEST THING TO DO. but I didn't get caught and I'm guessing its still on my facebook snice I didn't remove I didn't remove it. on the other hand I don't think that if a employer googled me they wouldn't find much just a lot of pics with friends and me out at night clubs. I think that someone might now hire just based on what I look like in the pics just because I have piercings and tattoos. I think its decrimanation if you ask me. I really don't think that should be allowed because social media is for one enjoyment not someone else.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, I would think employers would at least notify the person about this even if it's in fine print on the agreement. It makes me wonder if my employers have ended up google-ing me before I even got my job. I guess it seems reasonable that they'd be looking for how the person acts outside of work, but people do have lives outside of work. Though, if the person does end up talking smack about their job, employers, and co-workers, then it would just suck. Just don't put it out there or don't add co-workers on the social networking sites.
ReplyDeleteThis article is very interesting to me. I never knew that Google tracks people down so personally. After reading this article, i took a lot into consideration for future career jobs. I also goggled myself after reading this and i was very shocked to know that my address was posted on there and also both of my parents names. Seeing this information caught me off guard and a little bit scared to know anyone has the access to my personal information.
ReplyDeleteIt's not surprising to me that employers google their applicants because anything posted online, will hold value to them. If they search someone who has many social networks and is carefree with what they post, it tells you that that person is an open type of person who doesn't look after their well-being by blasting their information around. After searching myself, I found one social network that I had when I was in high school. I deactivated my facebook account a long time ago and rarely use social networks because I don't use my instagram actively. By limiting the amount of networks I use, I protect my image from being seen in a bad way.
ReplyDeleteTake a minute to Google yourself and think about what a potential employer sees. Do you feel the need to scrub your social media accounts?
ReplyDeleteAfter Googling myself, I came to the realization that being Googled is not such a threat. I mean, it is only dangerous to your future endeavors if the content of your page isn't appropriate or can damage your image. My search only yielded a few links to sites like Myspace and Instagram which are completely harmless. Unless of course my potential boss is strongly opposed to an individual taking copious amounts of what my generation calls "The Selfie." So the only way being Googled can ruin your chances at a new job is if you allow there to be content that can do that. We were all young and stupid at some point: just delete it!
It really is interesting how much information about you is floating around on the internet. Personally though, I feel that my image is rather untouched by the social media cites of Facebook or twitter. I'm not big on posting so there ave very few comments written by me. I also have little to no photo's of myself on my profile, so as far as Facebook goes I'm fairly anonymous.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing about this blog is how they have certain titles for people who commonly use social media. Such as The Ranter, The Grammatical Nincompoop, and The Partier. Meaning these titles were given for a reason and its terrible how much so much people have these key problems that was brought up in this article. I don't feel I need to scrub my social media accounts. I feel as if I should be cautious and keep an eye out for what my friends post on their social media because they are associated with me and you can get caught that way also.
ReplyDeleteYou would think that its common sense for people to know that they will be googled by their potential employers, yet they still publicize silly things onto their social accounts and make themselves look like fools. I have googled myself before and I learned that the most accurate way to find yourself is by typing your most used username or email. It’s very helpful but also a disadvantage to have Google connect all of your personal accounts and make them accessible to the public. That is why I always say if someone is publicizing gibberish, they obviously don’t mind having it seen.
ReplyDeleteAfter Google ling myself and see what comes up I'm not all really worried. The main thing that came up was my instagram account and I don't post anything negative or of foolish activity. I was surprised my Facebook and MySpace didn't show up but even if they did I still wouldn't be worried because I mainly talk about my shows, or a song, or food or something on all my social networking cites nothing inappropriate or ranting about how much I hate something. I however do have plenty of friends who do post stuff like that and I just real that sometimes depending on what it is that gives them a bad look and its just tacky.
ReplyDeleteI am aware that employers will Google you, and will check what you have put out to the public. I Google'd myself and there really wasn't anything they could use against me or find inappropriate. I know that what I post can be seen by many people without me knowing so I make sure its something that I wouldn't have to worry about later on. On the other hand I do know a lot of people who do not use their common sense and post the most idiotic things for the world to see. It's so easy not to post anything at all rather than post something that would jeopardize a job.
ReplyDeleteGoogle always let their employersinto the success rate side and this is why most of the people wanted to join and work for google. good site to check out more helpful guide and tips for writing your papers.
ReplyDeleteYou may think that you can do your job in the high school by yourself own but the truth is in that age it is just your thought but you need a guidance for sure. visit the site to find more tips.
ReplyDeleteThey google to find the best stuff they need for their company for their company and get the bestresumeservices.net best resume services from the best candidates so that they can survive in such a competitive market.
ReplyDeleteWhen they google you, they have some points in their minds and the best site can guide them whom to promote in the company and whom to hire.
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