Surprise, Surprise, Surprise........... (employment, applying, interview, employer)

[LoveBoating]

An employer or employment agency can find out quite a bit about an applicant, other than by a resume, by just putting your name in the Search area of the Internet! Wife and I did that with me and up came some 5 websites with my name in them, including Facebook and LinkedIn!! Going into these websites I found info that I put in them and one website gives my age and high school graduation date......uh oh! Just a free Background Check in some ways. Employers/Agencies can see what your "likes and dislikes" are and could possibly base an interview on that info alone!
I have a very small, and low income, home business and that even came up!
What can I say, tons of people like to put all kinds of info about themselves on the Internet and ALL OF THAT can show up by doing a "search"! Both very interesting and very scary.......the Internet.

[Drover]

For those who keep asking why I shun Assbook, this is one of them.

[other99]

Well with facebook you can change your settings so your profile would not appear up in an public search.

[annerk]

Originally Posted by other99

Well with facebook you can change your settings so your profile would not appear up in an public search.

^^^^
Exactly.

And anyone who is just figuring out that their name might come up in a Internet search is probably someone I wouldn't bother to interview--that's news from 10+ years ago. What else are they slow on the uptake about?

Oh and when applying for jobs, I'd think that having your LinkedIn page come up might be a good thing in an internet search. Just saying.

[LoveBoating]

NOT EVERYONE knows or realizes this! Sure doesn't mean they aren't worth an interview or hiring......geshhhhhhhhhhh!!
As far as the use of a computer or even the Internet goes, I have a classmate that is a doctor, owns her own practice and she doesn't use a computer at all! However, I do think she has an assistant that does all the computer stuff for her though.
Neither myself or my wife think LinkedIn is worth much. It's great for communicating about job related stuff, but for finding a job...... Networking may be fine for the younger generation, but for us "old folks", just not sure.

Originally Posted by annerk

^^^^
Exactly.

And anyone who is just figuring out that their name might come up in a Internet search is probably someone I wouldn't bother to interview--that's news from 10+ years ago. What else are they slow on the uptake about?

Oh and when applying for jobs, I'd think that having your LinkedIn page come up might be a good thing in an internet search. Just saying.

[danameless]

Linkedin is a tool that can help you network and job search. It is not a guarantee for a job. However, all the info on your linkedin account is generally catered around your experience and career so there shouldn't be anything on there that you don't want to share with any employer?

Facebook has privacy settings. People should use them and set them accordingly to the amount of info they want to share. Even if your profile shows up in a google search, they still won't be able to see your profile. Keep in mind though that your profile pic is generally still viewable in a search. Something to think twice about.

People should realize that the internet is a digital version of the "real" world we live in. Whatever you put on the internet is viewable by everyone else. If you post a picture, think of it as posting the same picture in front of your house. Anyone who walks by can see the picture in front of your house. So if you don't want the risk of certain people seeing that picture in front of your house, then don't post it on the internet.

[Ep-]

i am going to register tons of webpages in my name then write stuff about how awesome i am on all of them

[mcb1025]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

NOT EVERYONE knows or realizes this! Sure doesn't mean they aren't worth an interview or hiring......geshhhhhhhhhhh!!
As far as the use of a computer or even the Internet goes, I have a classmate that is a doctor, owns her own practice and she doesn't use a computer at all! However, I do think she has an assistant that does all the computer stuff for her though.
Neither myself or my wife think LinkedIn is worth much. It's great for communicating about job related stuff, but for finding a job...... Networking may be fine for the younger generation, but for us "old folks", just not sure.

When you start applying for doctor jobs or open up your own medical practice, you can hire anybody you want to do the computer work. On the other hand, if you're applying for clerical work, you should be responsible for learning how to use the tools necessary to do the job. I think that's fair.

[Chatteress]

Originally Posted by Ep-

i am going to register tons of webpages in my name then write stuff about how awesome i am on all of them

Hehe! Sounds like a good idea! I want employers to know I'm God's gift to (my profession).

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by other99

Well with facebook you can change your settings so your profile would not appear up in an public search.

Tell that to the MA schoolteacher who was just fired, she thought her posts regarding the school district were private.....they weren't.

Or the waitress in NC who complained about customers and got canned.

Don't understand the need to post your personal business on the Internet.