I'm working with my boss this morning about hiring someone here at my job and one of the first things he mentioned was to see if he had a myspace page. He already had a fake account created and we looked him up. Of course we find that he has a bunch of drunk pictures after reading some of the captions. Needless to say we arent going to hire him.


While this may be common knowledge to some I guess you just have to be careful anytime you have a public profile out on the Internet with a future boss googling or looking up your myspace account. Especially having pictures/comments out there that can incriminate the type of lifestyle you live. I made my myspace account non-public so only my friends can view my profile. I really hadn't logged into myspace in a while anyways but just wanted to give others a heads up. I'll probably delete Puria's 'You are ghey' comments on my page too now

 

Good point Pratik......mine is private as well since i dont want my customers snooping around my personal life.

 

^^ How is the EVO

 

See I'm very much anti-myspace. I too have a fake account so I can see other people's accounts but I don't have one. My picture is a picture of a turtle with red neon lights, a fart pipe, a wing and a big Type R emblem on it's shell...high comedy.

I understand you guys not wanting to hire him and it's definitely stupid of this person to posts pictures like that on the internet but it seems to me to be crossing the line. I mean what did his pictures show or what did the captions say? Was there anything on there to show that he either lied or would be a bad employee? Like I said, I don't blame you for not wanting to hire him for that but I just feel like someone's personal life shouldn't be the make or break deal for a job. If you were iffy and this was the straw on the proverbial camel I can see that but if he was stellar and just because of this you're not going to hire him. I know that some of the edges between personal and professional blur but where do you draw the line? I like to go out boozing on weekends and sometimes making an @ss of myself, should that preclude me from a job? I still collect comic books, if a potential employer found this out should I be considered immature or unprofessional? Just playing devil's advocate...

My story, severly shortened, I got into a bit of an altercation with someone I worked with (didn't know at the time). I laid on my horn at a light, he didn't appreciate it (this happened on a public street, off company property, off company time), he followed me ONTO company property and proceeded to b!tch me out. Told me he was going to e-mail my boss and I asked him "How does my driving habits have any bearing on my work ethic?". He ends up e-mailing my boss and telling him that I was a jerk or whatever. I ended up going to HR since this guy took something non-work related and brought it into work and was pretty much slandering me to my boss. He had no right, it's not my manager's responsibility and none of the company's business. Don't know the point of that story...just trying to show the separation of professional and personal lives.

My brother gave me a good piece of advice, don't e-mail, post, or record anything you wouldn't want displayed on the front of the New York Post.

 

^^ You mean I can post the picture of Ponch saying 'You are Gay' on the cover of the Post?

His images and him being drunk on myspace were not the sole reason for not considering him for this position. He was a candidate on the fence.

I found it interesting however that my boss and I'm sure a lot of other bosses out there use a site like myspace as a barometer. I'm sure you can google 'Pratik' and find all my G35Driver posts if you really wanted to.

Your life isn't as private as you may think it is if people really wanted to find out that's all. And my boss also knows I like to go out and have a good time but I'm still a very successful employee here. First impressions are key however like all interviews.

 

^^I agree with stanton. I think using somebody's profile is stupid. I have seen guys 19x smarter than anybody on this forum have stupid pics and etc on their profiles. They graduated from Gtown and are in residency...most of my friends who are doctors smoke weed on the DL and also drink like fish...

How many ppl would go to a doc. knowing his personal life??

 

nice.. i am setting myspace to private now..

 

i see everyone's point... but it sucks..

 

Dude, of course its stupid but its reality!! That's like saying I should be able to roll up in an interview with jeans and a t-shirt because it doesnt reflect my work ethic and I'm smarter than the guy wearing a suit.

Appearances, looks, first impression all matter in the workplace. As much as we'd like to think they shouldnt they always do. Why do you always see cute girls working at Arden B and Express and the fatties work at Dairy Queen? Bad analogy but you get the point!!

 

^^why do i always see indians working at 7-11??

 

Because Indians are smart businessmen and are all about making $$$!!

Why do I see Persians with bombs strapped to their chests??

 

^because the persians aren't qualified enough!

 

I know several people who were forced to remove their profiles based on the public image of the companies (yes, multiple companies) being reflected by the actions of their employees. I also have seen a couple applicants not hired b/c of stuff on their pages.

 

^^I have seen Floridians rejected for posting pics having ******* sex on their page, most notably the one's who cruise FL waters and like the Gators

 

Its good. Crappy on the inside, ugly on the outside, but when u smash the gas and turn the wheel none of that seems to matter


Ill be in DC next weekend...any of you NatGclub dudes live in downtown area or Georgetown? Holla!