Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook… We all have at least one social networking account where we post those pictures of ourselves in speedo’s or bikini’s in compromising positions. Or where we “drunk tweeted” that ex that you once couldn’t live without but now can’t stand. Well, before you hit send on that next nude shot, you should know that more than “Big Brother” or your followers are watching. That job you just interviewed for… The one you’re “dying” to get… Yeah… They’re watching too.
Through a company called Social Intelligence, your next potential job is finding out about all of your social networking activities. And while its standard procedure for companies to run background checks on potential employees(former jobs, credit check, etc…), companies are now checking your social networking activities as well. Social Intelligence was “founded to protect Human Resource from liability”, meaning that their sole purpose is to make sure you stay in line while your online. They gather all of your online activities into a report, and give it to that potential employer so they can make an “informed” decision about who they’re hiring. So that photo of you online showing your… ahem… “girls” to get some beads while you were at Mardi Gras… Not such a good idea anymore.
And don’t think once you’ve gotten that fantastic job that you wanted that you’re in the clear for all of the online tomfoolery that you can stand. Most jobs have a “Social Media Policy” that they hire companies like Social Intelligence to enforce. So once you’re on the job, your online activities are being tracked.
This generation, moreso than any other, is “wired in” literally 24/7. I know I am. Even while I’m sleeping, my RSS feeds and news apps are busy sending me the latest and greatest news for my perusal with my morning coffee while my mobile device alerts me to the latest Google Plus, Facebook or Twitter posts. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who does this. So it only makes sense that employers are doing the same thing and check up on what we’re checking out. Or doing.
So remember, before that next tweet shouting “FTW!!” while giving the two fingered salute, that Facebook photo of you hitting that bong, or that nefarious YouTube video of you planking on a subway turnstile, remember… You’re friends/followers aren’t the only one who’s watching.