Managing Your Online Identity

Today's blog post is offered by a graduate intern for the Office of Career Services.

It can be unnerving to realize that the information that we put on the internet will be used by employers to judge us. Be it Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or whichever new website is riding high these days, social media websites are increasingly being tapped into by employers in order to determine who their employee really is. This means that anyone working, or trying to find work, needs to be aware of how their online identity will be received by a potential boss. While it may seem unfair to be judged, punished, or fired for things that happen outside of work, that is precisely what is happening to careless employees all over the US.

It seems obvious to some, but just to make it crystal clear: employers make no distinction between your internet persona and your work persona. It is incumbent upon you to insure that any comments, posts, links, or quotes that you have floating around online do not reflect poorly on you as an employee. As much as I would like to debate the moral and ethical ramifications of this practice, the reality is that employers are less interested in being fair to you as they are in maintaining their company brand. If you do something in your personal life that you wouldn’t do in front of your boss, don’t put it in the public sphere. Businesses carefully craft the public image that they present to customers. Advertisers, agents, PR representatives…there are whole industries dedicated to managing personal and corporate brands. That’s their job. Part of being in the modern workforce is recognizing your own personal brand, and managing the way that you are perceived by the world at large.

This is not meant to be a lecture or an exercise in finger-wagging; this is only to say that we, as tech-savvy adults entering into the modern workforce, need to be smart about what information we are putting out in the world. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has seen a huge number of complaints being filed by workers who object to being fired for a Facebook comment. Most of these employees are simply being told that it’s their own fault. That internet communication amounts to water-cooler talk. And if you can’t say it at work, best not to try it online. So with that said, here are a few things to watch out for:

1.      Criticizing current or previous employers

Do. Not. Do. This. You could easily be fired if your boss gets wind of your disapproval, frustration, or anger. Work presents challenges and sometimes venting to friends and family is the only way to maintain your sanity. However, do not mistake your Facebook wall posts with a private conversation. There are many people who, if put in a position of power, would love nothing more than to fire someone under them who makes them look bad. Additionally, bad mouthing your former employer publicly does not endear you to someone thinking of hiring you. You want to project positivity and a sense of professionalism to anyone looking to give you a job.

2.      Having pictures of yourself drinking or doing drugs

This may seem obvious, but it’s surprisingly common. People assume that the activities they engage in at home are off limits to employers. But employers are looking at the whole person; they are trying to get a sense of who it is that they are going to work with. That’s why they interview you at all. As tragic as it may be, no one at your potential place of work should be able to see the hilariously drunken tom-foolery you engaged in last Halloween.  

3.      Racist, sexist, dirty, or even border-line inappropriate comments online

This could mean posts on a website, forum, or social media outlet. These can be from you, or even from a friend posting on your page. Remember: Everything that an employer can see is material with which you can be judged.

4.      Poorly written, poorly communicated information

This is tricky because we don’t often apply the same standards to online communication that we do to formal communication. But if a potential employer sees a profile or internet post that is poorly written, it is going to reflect negatively on you. It might not get you fired, but it might not get you the job either.

Again, regardless of your personal thoughts on what employers should and shouldn’t judge you on, people are getting fired for information they put out to the internet… or they’re not being hired at all. Be smart about what you put out there and remember, until you’re firmly planted in a position you are constantly auditioning.

Do you find these topics interesting? Have you ever thought about writing a blog? If so, join our team! Please send any interests, inquiries, or articles to Cassie Sklarz at sklarz@fordham.edu. We'd love to hear from you!