What do you guys think?

[phunky_guido]

Here is a copy of a letter Ive been sending to any free legal advice forums hoping t get an answer.Let me know what any of you guys think about my situation.Also if anyone knows of any good FREE legal advice websites or forums please let me know.

Hi my name is Josh.I was set to start a new job the second week of Aug. at a Fancy restaurant.I had already talked to the head chef and the job was mine.So in my excitement I made a post on my Face Book page to let my friends and family aware of my new found employer.I was excited because this is pretty high profile for my area.Anyways,the next day the head chef sent me a text message telling me to call him.When I called he said he had bad news.The owner or some other higher up person was on face book and I guess since I used the name of the place my post came up.After seeing that they checked out my page and profile.Based on my profile they decided I would not fit in with the company as a cook and told Joe (the head chef) he could not hire me.Can they do that?My face book page has nothing to do with how I conduct myself professionally.Even personally Its nothing bad,there way have been a couple of swear words but not excessive.When you see my page you see that Im a devoted family man and music lover.I feel Ive been treated unfairly.What do you think?

 

[viktor]

Certainly unfair but the next time you will know. I'm not a L but doubt there's a legal advise to help you. Sorry it happened to you.

 

[AJMoore]

Why don't you think that everything you do and say on the internet will come back to you? You're putting out a public persona, people see that. Haven't you heard about employers, schools, etc. checking up on Facebook, MySpace, etc. before, are you surprised?

Not the same thing but as an analogy, if you were going to hire a nanny for your children and she/he had a disturbing FaceBook page, would it bother you? Hire them? Just a thought.

I won't even type certain emails on my computer, I don't want a record (because you know there is one) and I won't "visit" certain sites. It's all out there and it will all come back to you, when you least expect it and not in the form you'd like.

 

[Hellen A. Handbasket]

Really not so unfair. This might make things a bit more clear for you:

Digital dirt: Social networking sites and online searches are the newest way that many employers are checking up on prospective hires. A 2009 CareerBuilder survey showed that 45 percent of employers use social networking sites to research candidates. Thirty-five percent of those employers found content that caused them to dismiss the candidate. Make sure to remove any photos, content or links that can work against you in an employer's eyes.

From a good article found here: Not Getting Hired? 10 Reasons Why - Careers Articles

Also a good read about not getting hired because of FaceBook: http://ezinearticles.com/?Didnt-Get-Hired-Because-of-Facebook?-Youre-Not-Alone&id=3669704

If you won't print the content of your page off and hand it over for them to read during a job interview, then don't put it on your page! Don't forget, who ever hires you can come back and look AFTER you are hired as well so be careful about content period!

Good luck. I hope you find something even better.

 

[AJMoore]

Right on Helen, I thought everyone knew this but your post will put everyone "on guard".

 

[viktor]

Ah come on, HR are such idiots, the point is not to give them anything to think about before they hire you. BTW, I don't have a facebook account but enough activity on the internet. Trace me

 

[Rhetoric Camel]

Because of all the news of parents getting in trouble because of something they said on their facebook, or people getting fired or denied jobs because of pictures or other content on their facebook I have put up the privacy setting so if you're not a friend you can't see more than just my picture and location.

You have to watch yourself because unfortunately now that we put ourselves out there publicly on the internet that means employers can try to find you and see what kind of person you are. I think it's bull.... that they do that. The fact that you like to drink on weekends with a bunch of friends at a bar or a house party doesn't mean that you can't be professional at a job.

 

[Whippit96]

Like others have said, just adjust your privacy settings or change your name on facebook to a nick name. CNN did a big story on this a month or two ago regarding college grads not being hired due to their facebook profiles.