Job Candidates Made to Submit Facebook Pages for Background Checks
Posted by Molly DiBianca On June 19, 2009 In: Social Media in the Workplace
Applicants with social networking profiles on sites like Facebook and MySpace had better do a bit of self-censorship if they hope to get a job with one city government in Montana. ![]()
All applicants for employment in Bozeman City, Montana are asked to submit a list of all "current personal or business websites, web pages, or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc."
Applicants are then asked to list the web site, their user name, and log-in information and their passwords.
For those individuals who feel as if their privacy has been invaded by an employer who surfs the web for the "scoop" on potential employees, this must seem like an outrageous intrusion! If there was a balance between what employers should seek to learn about what candidates do in their off-duty time, that balance is all but evaporated for employees in Bozeman City.
[via Boing Boing]
Want to know more about Facebook's increasing impact on the employment relationship? See these prior posts:
More Stories from the Facebook Frontier
Ethical Implications of "Friend-ing" a Witness on Facebook
Employers, Job Applicants, and Google
How to Conduct Online Background Searches With Google
Facebook Users Beware: Employers Aren't the Only Ones Who Know How to Google
Top 10 Reasons Why Employers Should Screen Their Applicants
MySpace Post Results in Termination of Nursing Student
Discoverability of Facebook Profiles
Eagles Employee Gets Benched for Comment on Facebook Page
Facebook and YouTube Make Employees More Productive. Really??
More Good Advice on Best Practices for Use of Social Networks for Employers
Free Podcast: Employers' Use of Facebook, MySpace, and Other Social Networking Sites
Twitter + Reporters + a Courtroom = A Whole Lot of Controversy
Fumo Found Guilty--No Thanks to Facebook
The Number of Adults Who Use Online Social Networking Sites Is Skyrocketing
Employers Use MySpace for Hiring and, Now, Defending Discrimination Claims

