Have you ever Facebooked or Tweeted something to a friend and regretted it? Imagine doing something like that and having it cost your entire career.
CNN recently reported that a recent Tweet by a potential Cisco hire had major consequences. The person Tweeted: “Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.”
The poor unassuming person was, of course, caught. Tim Levad, who is with Cisco, saw the Tweet and responded: “Who is the hiring manager? I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the Web.”
I’d say that’s cause for a fail whale.
People need to realize that employers are out there online. They sometimes use social networking sites for recruitment or branding strategies. Once you’ve graduated from school and begin your career, sometimes it’s good to think twice about posting exactly how you feel online.
Twitter isn’t the only thing to watch out for--no doubt most of you have Facebook accounts. CNN cites a situation in which Kimberly Swann, a former employee for Ivell Marketing and Logistics in the U.K., mentioned that she thought her job was boring on her Facebook page. Soon after she did, her boss called her in and fired her.
CNN also offered some good advice on social networking “don’ts.” These include: not announcing interviews, raises or new jobs, not saying anything bad about employers--whether current or previous--and not mentioning your job search if you’re still employed.
As you can see, these are pretty self-explanatory things anyone with common sense should realize once they are well on their career path. But as someone once said: common sense isn’t.
Our Take:
As someone who is very active on social networking sites, I sometimes forget that my coworkers and higher-ups have accounts and can see anything I post. I would advise college seniors about to embark in the real world to be careful and think twice about everything you post. There’s no need to get paranoid about it, to be sure, but as our parents have taught us growing up, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
