Facebook: Should prospective employers/Universities check it? [ENDS 17/06/2012]

I have the same view as some of the others. I don't think they should be looking into their facebook and twitter etc as they're entitled to a personal life but if someone has got their profile set to public then they can't moan.
However, I think this would help employers/universities gain a better understanding of what their personality is like and what they like to do in their spare time and obviously if they're posting a new status every night they probably have a lot of time on their hands and sometimes people write about going out and getting drunk all the time and this could be good for universities/employers as they can see if the person is the right kind of person they're looking for to do the job or go to that university. Also, again the person can't moan if they post loads of stuff about getting drunk every night for example if their profile is set to public.
But then again, reading back on that it comes back to my other point that they are entitled to their own personal life and as long as it doesn't effect their behaviour at university or their job performance then it shouldn't matter and I don't think they shouldn't be judged for it.

Sometimes I worry about what I've put on the internet - things from many years ago that I've completely forgotten about could come back to haunt me one day. In this scenario, I don't think it's fair to be judged on what you did as a child...

The way a person is on Facebook can be entirely different to how they act and perform in real-life situations. It's easy to forget real problems whilst on social networking sites, and therefore the things posted can be completely out-of-character and inappropriate for a formal situation. Starting a new employment/education term commands a respect for one's superior and manager, and therefore the contents of a Facebook profile (particularly a refreshing alternative to the real person's attitude) should not be explored.
Asking the right questions during an interview to receive access to the institution will provide perfectly adequate answers that can be used to judge the ability and mindset of a prospective student/employee and so delving in to their personal, more private lives is intrusive and misdirecting.
For example, someone could be radically wild on Facebook, yet when working attain the highest levels of success and concentration. The decision whether their application will be accepted may be based on their online profile (a poor indicator of their work ethic) rather than the statistics gathered from past results etc.

Although, over time, if the relationship formed can become a casual (student-teacher relationships are not correct for this example) then the boss may feel a necessity to add their employee as a friend/follower/whatever in order to become closer to them; when the employment of the subject is assured.

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Originally Posted by Munex

Sometimes I worry about what I've put on the internet - things from many years ago that I've completely forgotten about could come back to haunt me one day. In this scenario, I don't think it's fair to be judged on what you did as a child...

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You could always delete those posts or create a new facebook account, that's what I've done. I always untag embarassing pictures too, mostly so my friends couldn't laugh at me but I'm glad after my boss added me xD

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Originally Posted by lawrawrrr

You could always delete those posts or create a new facebook account, that's what I've done. I always untag embarassing pictures too, mostly so my friends couldn't laugh at me but I'm glad after my boss added me xD

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Originally Posted by Munex

Sometimes I worry about what I've put on the internet - things from many years ago that I've completely forgotten about could come back to haunt me one day. In this scenario, I don't think it's fair to be judged on what you did as a child...

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To be honest, I don't believe an employer would judge anything from under the age of 16
I certainly wouldn't, and the most governments don't believe a person is mature enough to function in society until around that age (16 or 18 for most places) so employers shouldn't take information from these times.

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Originally Posted by CrazyLemurs

To be honest, I don't believe an employer would judge anything from under the age of 16
I certainly wouldn't, and the most governments don't believe a person is mature enough to function in society until around that age (16 or 18 for most places) so employers shouldn't take information from these times.

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Neither do I, (depending on how old the person is), but if they're that concerned about how they were portrayed when they were younger nothing stopping them deleting it.

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Originally Posted by lawrawrrr

Neither do I, (depending on how old the person is), but if they're that concerned about how they were portrayed when they were younger nothing stopping them deleting it.

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Of course, in most cases that is true. But if, per chance, there wasn't the ability to remove things that were on somebody else's profile, and that when reported, nothing happened, what would happen? Employers would have to make a potentially life-changing decision, with negative evidence that shouldn't even be considered.
I'd happily say 90% of people are different at the age of 18 to when they were say, 12.

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Originally Posted by CrazyLemurs

Of course, in most cases that is true. But if, per chance, there wasn't the ability to remove things that were on somebody else's profile, and that when reported, nothing happened, what would happen? Employers would have to make a potentially life-changing decision, with negative evidence that shouldn't even be considered.
I'd happily say 90% of people are different at the age of 18 to when they were say, 12.

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As long as the person has made it, they can delete it (on every website I've ever been on anyway). Employers wouldn't base a WHOLE job prospect on one or two bad statuses, but if someone posts every day for a year 'i hate work' 'going on the dole' 'calling in sick again cos i cba' then they're not gonna want to hire that person?

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Originally Posted by lawrawrrr

As long as the person has made it, they can delete it (on every website I've ever been on anyway). Employers wouldn't base a WHOLE job prospect on one or two bad statuses, but if someone posts every day for a year 'i hate work' 'going on the dole' 'calling in sick again cos i cba' then they're not gonna want to hire that person?

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Oh but of course, if someone were to post that they were "bunking off" work then I, if I were an employer, would certainly not hire them.
Having access to statuses can be useful in situations such as this, but personally I think it's a bit of a breach of privacy. For example, the online profile of one candidate could be completely overlooked, whereas another's (likely one who hasn't performed as well at an interview or whose CV is less impressive) could be heavily influencing their result.
If Facebook profiles are to be checked, then EVERY applicant's profile should be checked.
If the person doesn't have Facebook then they can have a 'get out of jail free' card; they're safe from the possible onslaught

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Originally Posted by CrazyLemurs

Oh but of course, if someone were to post that they were "bunking off" work then I, if I were an employer, would certainly not hire them.
Having access to statuses can be useful in situations such as this, but personally I think it's a bit of a breach of privacy. For example, the online profile of one candidate could be completely overlooked, whereas another's (likely one who hasn't performed as well at an interview or whose CV is less impressive) could be heavily influencing their result.
If Facebook profiles are to be checked, then EVERY applicant's profile should be checked.
If the person doesn't have Facebook then they can have a 'get out of jail free' card; they're safe from the possible onslaught

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Would it really heavily influence? If someone isn't technically good enough for a job, a few facebook posts aren't going to tip the balance...

If someone doesn't want their facebook to be checked, they should a) not add their boss, or b) make everything private.