Facebook poses employment dilemma Networking site introduces function to delete profiles

Author: Roz Vara

Change is nothing new to Facebook these days. Log on right now and you will probably find three or four requests to become a member of the newest bizarre applications. But last week, Facebook finally made a change that may prove to be a worthy one.

In the past, Facebook users ready to put an end to their days of stalking attractive classmates and keeping tabs on old high school friends had only one option - deactivating their online profiles. What exactly does "deactivating" mean? Certainly not the same thing as deleting, so after multitudes of complaints the company recently introduced an option that allows displeased users to delete their accounts once and for all.

This is an especially important feature for students just entering the job market who no longer want to have potentially incriminating information on the web. In recent years, rumors have abounded that many employers use Facebook as an alternative means of sizing up applicants.

Jaye Roseborough, the executive director of Career Services Office (CSO) at the College, acknowledged that online resources like Facebook are especially effective in staying in contact with old friends but recommends the College's alumni career volunteer network - MiddNet Online - as a safer alternative. The Middlebury-specific site, Roseborough argues, provides an equally good way to stay in touch with alums, but provides fewer opportunities to post material that could be damaging in the long run.

"The downside of Facebook and similar sites centers on the temptation to post information and photographs that are not flattering and can be quite damning when viewed by those outside the College network - like a potential boss," Roseborough said.

While Roseborough feels that the site's most recent change is a positive development, she remained skeptical as to whether or not the information is actually being deleted from the Internet entirely.

"It is my understanding that once that stuff is out there, it's out there," Roseborough said. "Witness all the young starlets who in their earlier years posed for photographs that they now wish would not surface and cast a spell on their newfound fame or relationship."

According to Roseborough, it is not only easy for employers to get access to a student's Facebook information, but it is common as well. She noted that many employers take advantage of the site to check out the "character" of their potential hires.

"If the site is full of drinking stories and photos there is sometimes a question of maturity," she said. "Students need to remember that they see the world through a college student's lens and that those in the employment world see it through a risk lens."

A recent CareerBuilder survey corroborates her assertion that employers take this sort of character assessment practice very seriously. The job search Web site found that 63 percent of hiring managers admitted to not hiring someone based on information they found online.

Lani Young '08 takes heed of Roseborough's advice by carefully censoring the type of information and photos she displays on her profile.

"If you wouldn't want your Mom to see it, you shouldn't have it on your profile," Young said. "For me, that covers anything I wouldn't want employers to see. I'm definitely sticking with a more conservative (and perhaps boring) Facebook account."

While Young plays it safe by minimizing the information she provides, fellow senior Katie Fisher '08 has taken advantage of her profile's visibility in an alternative fashion. Last year Fisher set her profile's "interested in" section to read that she was interested in both men and women.

"I put up both men and women last year in hopes of encouraging others on campus who feel uncomfortable about their sexual orientation to feel more at ease in sharing their preferences with others," Fisher said.

While Fisher is fully aware of the possibility of employers scrutinizing her information, she has chosen to use her online account for her own screening purposes.

"During my job search I considered removing that section from my profile," the senior psychology major said. "However, I concluded that if my employer would not hire me based on sexual orientation, I would likely not enjoy my working environment anyway."

This approach is advocated in January's edition of Senior Spotlight, the CSO's monthly newsletter, through an article (loosely based on one published in Job Postings magazine) that encourages students to view their online profiles as a supplemental resumé, referencing their interests and activities in a way that will reflect positively on their job applications.

For her part, Roseborough said that she has personally seen photos and read Facebook entries that would make her question hiring a student or taking them as interns.

"When you're entering a new world, especially the employment world, it's important to remember the old adage to put your 'best foot forward,'" she said. "I don't think there's a single one of us who is already out of college that doesn't look back on their college days and say, 'Wow, how embarrassing would that be if people found that out now?'"