Vegas pictures, obnoxious shout-outs to best friends, inappropriate song lyrics. These are the most common items seen when scrolling through a Facebook newsfeed. Users often create a different name or use a pseudonym on their social media accounts to stop future employers or admissions offices from finding out about a crazy weekend in Mexico. Needless to say, many users would not want employers or admissions personnel seeing their “private” Facebook pages.
Imagine if those employers or potential graduate and law school admissions personnel had magic access to the not-so-professional sides of personalities often portrayed on Facebook. An increasing number of companies are starting to require an applicant’s login information upon applying for positions.
Since the rapid rise of social networking sites, many bosses and managers have made a habit of searching for potential candidates on Facebook and looking at the profiles they have public access to. But with such high competition for employment, those in charge need to get a little more personal. They are desperate to know just exactly who they are hiring.
“If anyone would ever asked me that (for a Facebook login), even if it was for a job I really wanted, I would say that I deleted my Facebook,” said Drew Pulino, a communication senior graduating in May. “I think that’s an invasion of privacy.”
If they do not specifically ask for the password, some companies have been reported to make applicants “friend” a human resource manager or even ask them to log in to a computer at the interview and reveal their personal profiles. USA Today reports that these actions have become a custom for both sheriff department and correctional services positions.
Any Facebook user should be extremely cautious of how he or she is portrayed on the Internet, but the line between personal and professional lives should always be respected.
On March 23, Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan posted a statement on the site in defense, “As a user you should not be forced to share your private information and communications just to get a job.”
Facebook is right. Even the perfect candidates have skeletons in their closets.
“Knowing that I was going to apply to law school absolutely influenced me deleting my Facebook before college,” said Valeria Duenas, a political science senior. “It freaked me out the most that I could still find things on Google about me that linked back to my Facebook.”
Even having a perfectly clean Facebook leaves room for trouble. If an employer learns an applicant’s sexual, political, or religious orientation, biases could most definitely be brought into play.
It’s a major invasion of privacy but there seems to be no way to escape it. Social media is here to stay. As much as it violates the separation of work and home, the safest route seems to be deleting Facebook accounts way before graduation.
Employers are going to continue to rely on Facebook and Google searches while they are so prevalent in our society. After all, resumes do not include a fraction of the personal details employers want to uncover about today’s job applicants and higher education candidates.
— Caroline Nachazel is a junior studying journalism and communication. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu or on Twitter via @WildcatOpinions .
