If you’ve applied for a job recently, you’re probably being judged far beyond the information on your resume. Ninety per cent of employers will go digging to see what kind of employee you really are, says Ontario Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian.
It all conjures up images of trench coat clad private eyes, high-tech hackers and confidential inside sources digging up dirt on you to slip to a new boss.
But, chances are, the person who’s leaking that embarrassing photo that cost you the job isn’t an undercover agent… it’s you.
“The irony is most of it is user-generated, we go out there and put out postings and tweets and all sorts of information about us,” says Mark Swartz.
Mark calls himself a “career activist” – for a fee, he combs through peoples’ online profiles, finds the dirt, and polishes it out.
“Your employer is looking at your social media at your online stuff that has nothing to do, necessarily, with work,” he says. “If you are looking to stay hired, if you’re looking to get promoted, if you want to be showing yourself as a professional responsible individual, it does matter what they see about you.”
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Mark walks up to a woman, “Caitlynne” in a café and showed us what a quick Google search can reveal about a complete stranger.
“So you’ve put your birthday on here, that’s interesting that you’ve actually put your birthday” says Mark. “Automatically now, the employer can peg you in terms if your age…That’s one criteria an employer could use, if they wanted to, to discriminate against you.”
It only takes a few minutes for Mark to cover the basics.
“We found out… her birth date, where she was from. Her hometown…her current occupation, we’ve seen some other things she’s done from a non professional stand point.”
All stuff an employer can’t, by law, ask you in an interview but it’s all there on line. But, after turning the earth a little, Mark found even more:
“Caitlynne, I’ve dug down about 10-15 pages into Google ‘cause… I want to get the dirt on you,” he says. “I found a video reel on You Tube, this is you.”
“A couple of these scenes are lesbian scenes; the story itself was a coming out story,” says Caitlynne. “There are clips of me kissing other women.”
It’s exactly the kind of thing, Mark says, that can stop an employer in his tracks and lose you the job…
“That you would put this out in the public eye, they might make false judgments about how you might behave as a representative of that company,” said Mark.
Everyone can think of something they’ve posted online that they’d prefer to keep from prying eyes.
Every tweet, every Facebook photo and every blog entry is an extended edition of your resume. Treat it this way and your job application won’t be hurt.
But the application process is just the start – once you’re in, keep your tinfoil hat ready. You may not be able to choose who sees what you type, post or click.
Watch 16×9 this Saturday at 7pm for “Snoopy Boss”– where Mark McAllister will explore what Big Brother knows about you, and how.
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