What does your Internet footprint say about you?

That is pretty dang crappy. There should be a separation between private and work life, and it cheeses me off that CEO's are violating that. * I stopped using my MySpace account for different reasons...I don't like MySpace. Frankly, I don't like being lambasted by teenage noise, even if it is teenagers I know. I heard FaceBook is equally crappy. The closest I get to a social networking site is MyLot. It's silent!

to tell you the truth the information is there far longer even if you removed it, I believe they have a bank of this somewhere, most likely where they keep the server's or something like that

must be faster than doing phone calls to last emplorer. and I wouldnt care have nothing to hide

You are so right pola. We sometimes forget that what we put here and other sites will be there for a very very long time! I don't really post much that would be embarrassing let alone grounds for not hiring. I can imagine what some people have on their profiles around the web keeping them from getting a job. I have done a search on my user name and their are many many pages that come up. I did find several on page one though, so it wouldn't be hard to find me and see a lot I have posted and I have many profile pages and blogs. All my friends want me to join this site or that, and it adds up! People should be aware of this!!

I've always thought this was a terrible thing, what I do as an adult is my business as long and I'm not hurting anyone or doing something illegal. That being said, I am practically a "goody two shoes" so to speak. But I do have my personal issues, and I deal with those a lot of times by talking about them on support boards and stuff, I did this more in the past, but still. I doubt it's really anything that could cause me to not get hired in the future though. The thing that concerns me more is, I have pictures of my tattoos on my myspace, I am proud of my tattoos, and they are in very visible places, but if I was to go to an interview or something I would definitely cover them up because I know companies are uptight about that stuff. But I wonder, would a reasonable company not hire someone because they saw that a person has tattoos, even if they are willing to cover them while at work? The good thing is, on myspace I use a nickname, so that covers me in that aspect. Another thing with me is, I am not going after a traditional career, I may indeed have to get a job eventually to support my career, but I am working on a music career, and I have a myspace for my music as well, which does have my real name, but it's not scandalous or anything. LOL While I think this is a bad idea, I also know that the industry I'm going into doesn't allow for a lot of privacy anyway, so I guess I would have to worry about it anyway, except sometimes in entertainment having your business exposed actually helps your career, ironic, huh? That all being said, I would still feel violated.

I was doing some work on my other site and this came up. The advice that the gentleman give was that one should always circumspect when putting your personality on the internet. Some characters that I see browsing makes me wonder if these people are real. Can you image putting a picture that is not so wonderful and applying for a job as a marketer and when the interviewer browse and see those things you will dismiss before even entering. The internet to me is like wearing a decent clothes on the road. One should always be clean and proper.

Wow that is one new strategy to do in making background investigations. I think it may somehow disrupt the real identity of a person as many are using an alias over the net and their real identity is sometimes far more different than the ones they are using over the net. I think one on one and personal interview is the best way to really assess a person's personality and behavior.

Can they still find you even if you are using a screen name? Surely this is an invasion of privacy. I don't belong to facebook, thankfully.

You have brought very interesting point to our notice and for all those who are looking for new assignements and jobs. I also read it somewhere that Companies have become very smart and they scan one's profile on social networking sites to check the facts about the prospective employees, they are going to hire. So one must be discreet and careful, while posting particulars on societ net working sites.

It says we are normal people with real lives.

Well when it comes to me, most of the information I put out on the internet is very vague! Not to mention that most of the time I don't fill out my whole name. So in a lot of cases, in order for an employer to find me they would have to know the specific name I use, not just my real name. Not to mention that you can hide your profile to most people that're not on your buddylist. I only add people I know, and in very rare cases ones I dont. So even if they do somehow manage to find their way to my profile, the most they can see is a picture of me. If they don't hire me based on my picture for whatever the site that would just be ridiculous especially considering that there is nothing inappropriate with the pictures I post online! In otherwords, i'm not really worried, and if people have enough common sense & don't leave everything open to the public with what they do they shouldn't have any problem.

I try putting my name into search engines once in awhile to see what comes up. At one point, it came up with my sister's wedding page, as I was listed on it as maid of honor. Now the only thing that comes up that is actually me, is my listing on classmates.com. However, there are other people with the same name (which surprises me), and I worry about what THEY may have done... As far as any social networking sites or forums, I am pretty careful about what information I have up, and who is allowed to view it. On this site, since I do express opinions about many things, and it comes up easily in searches, I do not post my last name, and am careful about references to employers, family members, or anything that can be linked with my name. Only my friends know that I use "fluffysue" as a screenname, and I would never share that with a co-worker. On sites such as Myspace and Facebook, I never use my last name. (Facebook requires it, but I use my middle name instead). Only friends can view my profile and blogs on those sites. Most of my friends are people I actually know in real life, but again, never a co-worker or anyone else I don't know. Facebook is notorious for giving away a lot of information, but they have employed a huge array of privacy settings that you can adjust as necessary. As for pictures, well if anyone else wants to see my trip to NYC, or my baby pictures, they are welcome to! I think I have one of me in a bikini...when I was 3! LOL

Well then I am good, nothing I have posted on any of those places is offensive. I have very professional internet presence. I do know of people who have come to regret some of the things they have done or said online.

scaring thing right there good thing i dont post silly stuffs. atleast theyll know the real you and probably know where to put you in the company?

Thanks for letting others know. I have known that the employers will use online networking site to screen prospective employees.

I have heard about this trend as well. Employers are now able to access much private information about a person, because they are willingly posting it online on their Facebook account and elsewhere like blogs. It's available for the world to see. It may seem like an invasion of privacy but when a person chooses to share info with the world, they forfeit a certain amount of privacy by choice!

Wow...thats actually kind of scary...i would think that would an invasion of privacy. that somehow doesn't sound legal. someone should report them because background checks i believe can only be done through police records and places like Unicru and other such places. something is wrong with that picture.

You do have to be very careful about the information you post - and I think it's a good idea never to put your date of birth on Facebook, etc., as there is a lot of identity theft these days.

I think it's wrong that employers would do that, my personal,"private" hobbies online are my business. It can be compared to stalking a potential employee. I think what our myspace, facebook and forum board participation should have no bearing on a potential employment opportunity. What should have bearing is experience pertaining to the job, education and personal rapore with the potential employer. It is none of their business what is on my facebook or other websites I frequent unless I supply it to them personally. It's a violation of privacy and privacy laws and the right to privacy.

its true they check everywere but i gess what u post is ur problem i dont post personal info keeps me in the clear