A new type of job interview

Students warned about the dangers social networking sites pose to securing a career

April 21, 2008 —

Students may want to think twice before adding questionable content to their Facebook or MySpace profiles. More employers are using the sites to screen potential employees, according to University officials.

SVSU Assistant Director of Career Planning and Placement Mike Major says more companies are using such screening methods, though few of these companies are willing to acknowledge it.

"No employer is going to say it's company policy to do these searches," Major said. "But that doesn't mean they aren't doing it."

Major said employers may also engage in this recent form of screening when several potential employees appear to have similar qualifications.

"If an employer checks one of these sites and just sees a lot of pictures of candidates B and C doing beer bongs, then they're probably going to go with candidate A," he said.

Major also said that since people put their best foot forward during a job interview, a potential employer may want to see how that person behaves on their own time.

These practices raise the question whether or not employers have the right to make hiring decisions based on this type of screening.

Christi Griffis, a professional and technical writing senior, sees validity for both arguments.

Griffis said that while she thinks employers have the right to view content made for public viewing, they shouldn't use the sites as determiners in the hiring process.

"Someone with drunken pictures from Saturday night all over their MySpace page may be reliable and hard working all week long," she said.

Major said students who want to display such content should make their profile private, an option that only allows the user's friends to view their profile.

Griffis said her MySpace profile is currently set to private, though not because of content.

"There are no pictures of me doing anything illegal or terribly immoral, and no information about anything too shady," she said. "A little alcohol and vulgarity is all."

The rising use of this form of screening correlates with the immense growth both Web sites over the last two years.

According to comScore Media Metrix, Facebook's number of unique visitors jumped to 26,649,000 in May 2007 from 14,069,000 in May 2006, an 89-percent increase.

MySpace, meanwhile, claims that about 300,000 new people register accounts daily.

Major reminds students that keeping MySpace and Facebook profiles free of questionable content is only part of creating a good impression with potential employers.

He said keeping things such as voicemail and cell phone ringtones professional is also vital.

"I've talked with departments that were appalled when they called a candidate's cell phone and got a vulgar voicemail message," Major said. "When that happens, the candidacy is over right there."