E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSWhen it comes to Facebook, Gen Yers aren’t taking their professional lives seriously enough.
A new study found that younger workers, aged 18 to 29, have an average of 16 coworker friends on Facebook. Given the way many in this group tend to act on the social networking site, that could end up spelling career doom.
“They are using Facebook primarily for personal (reasons) to connect with friends first, then family but are inadvertently sharing too much with co-workers,” said Dan Schawbel, founder of Millennial Branding, which along with Identified.com, an analytics firm, mined the data of four million Gen Y Facebook profiles. They found younger workers had no qualms about friending coworkers; and this group averaged nearly 700 total friends so it’s difficult to figure out what they’re sharing with whom, he added.
Gen Yers, Schawbel maintained, are more apt than older workers to include profanity and lewd photographs on their Facebook walls because “they started using Facebook in college before it was open to the world.” It’s also seen by many as a social platform, he added, where LinkedIn is more professional.
One study found that younger male Facebook fans, in particular, are a bit less polished on the site. "Males under the age of 30 had a somewhat higher level of profanity, over 55 percent," said Vlad Gorelik, CEO of Reppler, a social media monitoring service.
Bad behavior online won’t sit well with many employers who have upped their monitoring of employees on social networking sites of all sorts as a way to keep tabs on existing workers or weed out job candidates.
A poll by the Society for Human Resource Management to be released later this week found that “39 percent of surveyed employers monitor the social media activities of employees while they are using company-owned computers or handheld devices,” said Jennifer Hughes, a spokeswoman for the group. And, she added, “40 percent of organizations said they had social media policies. Of those organizations with social media policies, 33 percent indicated they had taken disciplinary action against employees who violated their policy in the last 12 months.”
In most cases, employees can't be legally fired, or demoted, for things they write or post on their private social media accounts, unless you’re ranting about working conditions, work for the government, or are covered by a union contract.
Maybe Gen Y doesn’t care what their employers think. This group is more proud of the schools they attended than the companies they work for, the report found; 80 percent of Gen-Y list at least one school entry on their Facebook profiles, while only 36 percent list a job entry.
This group may have little loyalty to their employers given the average tenure at a job is just over two years, the study revealed. But, Schawbel surmised, some Gen Yers may not list their employer because “they don't want their boss or co-workers to find their profiles, yet our study concludes that they are connected to an average of 16 coworkers on Facebook anyway.”
So are Gen Yers confused? “Their intentions are good but they don’t know the ramifications because we’ve never had to deal with this before,” he explained.
Some other findings from the report:
- Top five Gen Y work titles: server, managers, intern, sales associate, and owner.
- Top five Gen Y employers: Armed services, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Target, and Best Buy.
- Top five Gen Y industries: Travel and hospitality, consumer products, government/military/technology, and education.
Leave a Comment:
Duh....DOH!
Don't share things on facebook if you don't want your employer to know.
like these low achievers don't have enough problems.
Facebook, facebook. At this point, it isn't like people don't know the bad things that can happen to them. It is that they don't care until they've paid the price.
If you think about it we have a generation who has finally found "immortality." What they have on their Facebook will live forever even after they are dead and gone. It is, and always will be out there in the.......what ever that space is called.
The only problem will be trying to post from the great beyond. I am working on that now and hope to have it soon. I think I will make a cool Billion with the software.
The fact that people use Facebook is hilarious to me. You're not that important...really you aren't.
Some of the most brilliant people I know use Facebook and they also use vulgar language while on it. Not in a demeaning way, that's just how they speak. I think an employer is irresponsible basing who they hire off what they see on facebook. If people are smart and do their job well, I really don't care about their personal/Facebook lives.
Tell me what is stupider, posting things about yourself on facebook, or allowing your government to spend the money you have set aside for Social Security, spending all of it on other things, then panicing at retirement time when you realize there is no money for you and stealing it from the next generation's Social Security claiming "I paid into it my whole life!".
You are right, of course. Except for the noodleheads who decide to rob a store (first bad decision) then put it up on Facebook (second bad decision). FAIL.
On the other hand, there are so many people out there who are looking for jobs... And if I were an employer I'd check out my prospective employees on Facebook! You can learn a lot about people from the things they decide to share.
That goes along with "This group is more proud of the schools they attended than the companies they work for, the report found; 80 percent of Gen-Y list at least one school entry on their Facebook profiles, while only 36 percent list a job entry."
Could that be because they have not been able to find jobs -- even at Target, WalMart, Best Buy or Starbucks?
These kids (yes, many still are 'kids' despite their age) are not necessarily "low achievers." Some do have good jobs. Many do not, however. Growing up has stalled for a lot of them.
Whether they have jobs or not, though, a lot of them don't seem to understand the ramifications of how they represent themselves in a public space. Much of Facebook is posturing. Kind of like those family missives that people send out at Christmas. It's about what you want people to think of you. Except the young'uns are looking at what their peers think of them -- and aren't thinking about their bosses.
As a GenY-er who works full time and owns his own business, I know perfectly well the ramifications of Facebook. Which is why it is locked down to the hilt, which is why only very select co-workers are on there, and never my boss (who, incidentally, is connected to me on LinkedIn). As my own business grows, my philosophy is I don't give a rats behind what is on facebook. Whether they're shaking thier booty or puking from drinking to much, what they do off the clock is their own business. It is really that simple.
Another issue that is cropping up on both Facebook and Google+ is that of face recognition software such as PittPatt. Both are buing up this technology and spending millions adding to it. There are two problems:
1) They claim PittPatt is about 98% accurate. That would means that many thousands of times a day they would misidentify faces. If they said that they will either put your name on someone elses's picture on someone elses name on your picture 1 out every 50 times, this would not be acceptable.
2) That means that it someone who doesn't necessarily even know you takes a picture of you drunk at the Christmas party and posts it on his Facebook page, it can be tagged with your name without anyone ever making that choice.
All human resources software suites have "back doors" that allow them to look at everything on Facebook, even that which was supposedly deleted years ago. They can also do things like scanning Flikr for images that have your face in them. You would be surprised at how many nude pictures of job candidates are out there.
This is also showing up in divorce court. Using face recognition software, lawyers are scanning Facebook to find the pages of cheating spouses. And with Facebooks emphasis on the "timeline" history and face recognition software, it is going to get much, much worse. And the damage will substantially be done before anyone realizes it.
Facebook! Please people you need to get out a little more talk to people
Face to Face it's so much better and real.
It depends who is hiring....I actually use the FB profiles to determine if this is a candidate I can get along with and work next to on my team. If many applicants look stellar on paper, then I investigate their personality using FB. If you party, that's OK as long as it's off the clock! You may have interesting stories to share at the watercooler Monday morning!
This will become more of a norm as Gen Y'ers like myself begin filling upper management and C-level roles, especially in start-up companies and more "creative" industries like advertising/marketing. People who "grew up" using FB will be more lenient as we have been there ourselves!
Employers shouldn't be checking Facebook for anything. LinkedIn is the place to go.
I routinely check applicants Facebook pages.
Toxic, discriminatory, overtly religious individuals are typically troublemakers.
Overtly religious? I hope you realize that it's against the law to discriminate based on religion.
Tell me who isn't overtly religious and NOT toxic and discriminatory?
I won't hold my breath.
This is a case where everyone thinks it will never happen to them.
Aside from the federally criminal nature of your statement, I have found overtly religious people to be the cream of the crop. Those furthest from religion in the workplace tend to be the nastiest, loudest, and generally most offensive.
You mean like Ted Haggard...meth and hookers.
Or Jimmy Swaggert...hookers and drugs.
Or Eddy Long...underage go-go boys and porno.
or maybe Martin Luther, Mother Theresa, Billy Graham?
Racaille - You are the reason most of us that have a brain avoid FB and YOU. HR has become a hindrance to the hiring of good candidates. Not an asset.
Notice the word "overtly". They are not discriminating based on religion. There is a nuance to racaille is trying to say. Sometimes you do have to apply an ounce of prevention.
Exactly Kayless.
Trolls typically do not have that capability.
While firing someone over religious beliefs will get you in hot water, there is little to protect people from not being hired over them. While an employer would never give this as the actual reason the person was not hired, there are always other things that the employer can point to if questioned about it.
People need to be far more careful about what they post on-line if they are still in the job market. What you post on a social network site that you feel has nothing to do with your work ability may still lead an employer to take a pass on hiring you. Anything that leads a prospective employer to believe that you may not be the most trustworthy, conscientious, reliable employee may lead to the loss of a job opportunity. Your best bet before posting anything on-line is to think to yourself what is a hiring manager or HR person going to think of this post. If you say you don't care, then you accept the consequences for your career. If you do care, then post wisely or you may cost yourself some great opportunities and a lot of money in the process.
Ohh come on, the concept of HR is all about control. You are all control freaks ! Much of the time you have little or no idea what managers are really looking for as a worker. And how on earth do you manage to get access to applicants' facebook pages? You should be FIRED in a NY minute..eh Donald??
@MSNDC,
It is NOT against to discriminate in hiring bases on the presence or absense of religion. It is only covered discrimination if it favors one religion, denomination, or sect over another. Look at Tebow and the NFL --- it was not what religion he practiced that gave the NFL heartburn. It was that he made overt gestures (such as having the so-called anti-Obama bible verses letters on his cheekblack) and the NFL is a Congressionally-chartered socialist organization.
And in every state except one, employers donot have to give a reason for firing or not hiring someone. Even giving a reason at all is foolish.
I never thought about it but the 'overtly religious' individual at my company had a lot of disciplinary actions against him. He was constantly preaching to everyone and trying to get them to think the way he does. He routinely put the fear of God into everyone. He was a pretty smart employee but in the end his behavior sunk him. Religion in the office place doesn't work.
Ok MSDNC! I see what you did there.
This is why you use interns who are hired for a short time only. That way you minimize the damage if they turn out to be the bad sort.
That's why people hate HR. It's not against the law so lets use any unethical means available to make whatever stupid assumptions we want to. Wouldn't want anything but another corporate zombie to exploit. I could see how that could be a problem hiring someone that can think for themselves. What do you do if they have a profile set to private or friends only? Do you hire someone to spy on them?
Randy
I knew of an employee who actually atated on his Facebook page that he was watching his employer closely and if he made one bad move he would bring the state down on him. If you were a business owner would you want this moron working for you? Does he sound like some kind of cor[porate zombie you would agree with? The employer fired his ass for threatening his business and it held up with the unemployment office. Some of these younger clowns are not even worth the minimum wage that employers a forced to pay them.
I still believe that a person could start a lucrative business by getting the names of as many of the wall street occupiers and selling the list to business owners. The hard working people of America are getting sick of the slackers.
We don't hire the male y'ers where I work, only the young, fit female ones. We don't even look twice when they think they are cleverly hiding the fact that they are playing on their stupid phones.
Sorry but you Y dudes are useless, in fact, a new word needs to made for y'all because saying you are useless makes the word useless feel insulted.
Sorry, y'all are idiots, you dress like tards, act like phags, and don't look hot in a short squirt with a tramp stamp that shows when you bend over to look in a file drawer. Fk off and die gen y girly men. Us x'ers will fk what should have been your chicks. Thank you kindly, we like freaks.
That maybe a reason why unemployment numbers are high.
Many people have lost any sense of civility not to mention profound ignorance.
Always remember: "You are the master of your unspoken words, when they are spoken they are the master of you."
Post that on your Facebook Wall.
David while it appears you only hire the so called "fit female ones" it is painfully obvious to everyone here you have no chance to score with even the skankiest of them. I also didn't realize Taco Bell had such a strict hiring policy on "gen Y dudes". Maybe they changed it when they hired you. Shouldn't you be in class with the rest of the 13 year old kids today? How did a kid your age end up being classified Gen X?
JH, the employee in question was an idiot who friended coworkers and people he couldn't trust. I'm not sure how that couldn't doesn't fall under a whistleblower protection though even in an at-will state. Must be a right leaning state for that kind of @!$%# to fly. I've worked for many employers that regularly broke the law and the last one I worked for got an unwelcomed visit from OSHA and the EPA for numerous violations that people scared to lose their jobs refused to report after letting a few hundred people go during the height of the recession.
Racaille, unless somebody puts there facebook on here it's all anonymous. That used to be the best thing about the internet, anonymity. I will agree that people do stupid things on the facebook but none of that means anything. Few people older than Gen Y don't get that. Stop being so uptight, the previous generations are total hypocrites. All the sex and drug abuse from the generations born in the 40s 50s 60s 70s and 80s probably trump any bad "verbal" behavior that Gen Y could muster. Oh that's right nobody is pointing the finger at you.
Yeah, there is no way somebody as unintelligent as David owns a business or has any sort of position where he would be responsible for hiring people. I agree... he's probably about sixteen years old and works at Taco Bell.
And in response to JH, if the company was doing something illegal, why the hell shouldn't that person be ready to report it? If the company is doing something illegal, it deserves what it gets.
Randy
When you post anything on Facebook you are making a public statement. ANYBODY can read your posts at any time. And if an employer feels threatened by your words they have every right to can your ass. And by the way, most business owners that I talk with are "right" leaning. That is a good thing.
MSDNC - And if the company is an honest company? Should they have to bow down to a worthless employee that would file an unjustified claim? The employee also stated he would "nail his bosses ass to a cross".
Nobody has a right to work for any private company. You want a job at a private company then you have to earn it. I get tired of the whiners in this country that think they are owed something.
JH- do you know how privacy settings work? If you never add anybody you work with or post your employer info, then set everything to friends only it will be very hard for anything you post to get back to you. The employee in question broke the first rule by adding his boring ass coworkers. Your personal life and work life should never overlap, even on facebook.
You mean like all those whiners that think they are owed a balanced budget, lower taxes, social security, medicare, bans on gay marriage, ect. What about all those whiners that think corporations have the same rights as people. Or all those whiners that cry every time the government wants to regulate their unethical business practices. Yeah, I can't stand whiners.
Randy
It sounds to me like you have been influenced by our Whiner In Chief. Is everybody out to get you? Maybe you should just hide under your bed for the rest of your life because sometimes life isn't fair.
Privacy settings do not work. I know of employers who are given access to accounts from brothers and sisters who feel that their siblings are worthless whiners and are always trying to scam the system. We need more honest people like that instead of whiners. Your private life and work life will always overlap in this new age of constant information, unless you live under your bed. This country will get strong again as soon as we rid ourselves of the progressives who feel everyhting should be equal without equal contributions.
Most of these comments are not relevant to the topic: people, of several generations, put too much stuff on Facebook. When other people see these 'private' comments, they will form opinions, even if not work related. When you see people complain about their job or their co-workers, others are less likely to want to be open with them.
There is no security that can not be broken. Anything you post is forever; think before you post ... it is more permanent than that last tattoo.
What "progressives" believe that? Progressives are what makes our society move ahead. Without "progressives", such standard and accepted practices as child labor laws, child care systems, 40-hour work weeks and more wouldn't exist. In fact, our Founding Fathers were progressives. "All men are created equal" was a radical statement in 1776.
Regardless of what HR departments do with facebook or anything else, there are still four or five job seekers for every job opening. Unemployment is high because there are not enough jobs.
If unemployment is around 20% ( see shadowstats dot com ) than it might be expected that those left jobless would be among the 20% least productive individuals. That is why the jobless appear to be a gaggle of bums.
Randy, what you don't understand is that one of your "friends" can share something on your "friends only page" with someone who's NOT a friend who shares with someone else, etc. Pretty soon, it's all over the place where a prospective or current employer can find it.
If you don't want it broadcasted, DON'T POST IT.
I think a more proper label for "Generation Y" would be "Generation Whine"...
You're kidding right? Boomers and Gen X bitch about everything. The previous Gens sold Gen Y out and cry foul every time Gen Y points the finger back at them for @!$%#ing everybody over. The old farts need to take some responsibility and stop bitching about Gen Y.
He's funny isn't he brother. Silly lil' man child.
How was mom's dinner last nite? Did she get around to doing your laundry again yet? I see she hasn't washed your favorite marvel comics shirt yet.
What will you wear to Game Stop today?
Sorry to tell you this Randy but we have the good jobs and good women (that one stings you doesn't it) because we are non whiney alpha males.
Give it a try sometime. You'll need to grow a dck first though.
I don't think the 19-29 year-olds caused the housing bust, raiding the Social Security budget, voted to start 2 wars (though a lot of them are currently in the armed forces protecting you). So please show a little more respect for those "whiners" you raised and stop blaming them for the failings of personal and political policy that occurred before a lot of the generation was even born.
David TL;DR
My "Y" son just took, and passed, the testing regimine for a local manufacturing company. "He" immediately posted this on his F'book. And ran and told all his co-workers that his days at his long term job (7 yrs.) were numbered. "They" immediately cut his hours in half. Now he can't make rent! Hilarious, and tragic.
Sirlaf- that is tragic, sorry to hear. Unfortunately the Human Resources gestapo of corporations go to any extent to protect their company's bottom line even if it means snooping on Facebook and violating people's rights to privacy. What do you expect from such over compensated scum who produce nothing of any value.
How was this guy's privacy violated? If he didn't want HR to see his posting, he should have adjusted his privacy settings accordingly.
Public information is free for anyone to use. Do not publish anything you don't want others to read. This is not how an expectation of privacy works. Posting of the internet is just like standing in a town square screaming your lungs out.
Funny. The father is the role model for a male child's manliness. If the child comes out effeminate, that is the direct result of parenting -- parenting lauded by Boomers.
Gen Y lacks alpha males because of how Boomers raised them. Think about how your father raised you, and how you raised your son. There is a huge difference between how Boomers were raised and how Y's were raised. Therein lies the problem.
Dangit, why do you gotta make me feel bad about fkn with the kid.
The lil' punk sounds almost as dumb as I was at his age.
Good point though, no matter how old I get I still hate being called out on something that I know is wrong which in this case includes rubbin' some kids nose in his own stupidity.
The boomers did ok with their first crop (not great). It is the second and third crops of boomer kids that are so horridly neglected. Someone needs to tell the boomers to stop franchising already.
Sorry for razin' you Randy. It probably isn't your fault your a whineylil'puzzy.
Sirlaf: Darwin proved right again....just like the lioness with an antelope in its jaws...strong v. weak...smart v. dumb...prosper v. perish...sad, but the way of the world.
Wow, Dave...a little rough on Randy, don't you think? Of course, it is all true. Plus, you should have spelled out DICK....otherwise he won't know what you're talking about. BTW, what's up with all these 30-somethings living at home with their parents? I mean, grow a dck and be a man!
I am glad us "Whiners" will be taking the reigns from your generation THE GYPSY. I'm sorry to tell you that you guys have been utter failures. In government of course. In businesses you have of course done pretty well because your generation worships the almighty dollar.
The "Boomers" are by far the most selfish generation to inflict itself on the nation. They not only rob their children into poverty to enhance their retirements but they defend their actions as if they were moral.
Grandfather-2041741
Do you even care that 40% or so of your Social Security and Medicare checks are borrowed against your children's futures? OLD PEOPLE like you have spent the past 40+ years ruining what was once a great nation. You voted to transforme the "Land of the Free" into the worlds "Prison Nation". You voted to bankrupt what was once a very rich and prosperous nation. I hope your checks were worth it.
JEM, "And cut!"
Why? Because the Boomers are now reaching the age to get BACK what they paid into the system BY WORKING HARD FOR OVER 40 years? Is that why we're selfish? Just remember, Steve Jobs (You know, that guy who invented all those toys Gen Y'ers play with) was a boomer. So I challange all you Gen Y'ers to shut down the itoys and go invent something for the next generation. Something helpful. NOT like facebook.
Be careful gen Yer's. You too will be an OLD PERSON one day, more than likely being blamed for all of the problems of the next generation. I'm not a boomer, but quite a few boomers invented the very toys you all like to play with...and laughing all the way to the bank! Perhaps, instead of insulting them, you should emulate their work ethic?
Just wanted to let you Baby Boomers know what your legacy will go down as in the history books:
-Born into one of the most prosperous economic times in the history of mankind and systematically destroyed the economy.
-Grew up in one of the greatest education systems in the world and defunded it until your children and grandchildren had no hope of ever receiving the same education you received.
-Started foreign war after foreign war, never seeming to finish any of them successfully.
-Damaged the environment severely and said "F it" when presented with the data proving they were destroying the Earth for their children and grandchildren.
-Paid for Social Security on the backs of your children and grandchildren.
Ultimately, your generation will be remembered as the one that was born during one of the best times ever to be alive and spent their entire life ensuring no other generation got those benefits, and then had the audacity to call themselves the Greatest Generation Ever and blame all these problems on people that were still in diapers when the problem was created.
I'd be careful about badmouthing this next generation. They're the ones that are going to pull your asses out of the mess you have made. And no, we're not doing it for you. We are going to do it because we (unlike you) would like our children and grandchildren to grow up in a better world.
And btw FudgeFactor, all the protests in the Arab Spring last year were organized through social media (aka, facebook and twitter). Overthrowing several Middle Eastern Dictators > Anything ever done with a product made by Steve Jobbs
Um... I don't think Truman, Ike, JFK, and LBJ were boomers. I could be wrong.
I wasn't badmouthing this generation. Now go put your toys away.
Really? Funny I did not see printed anywhere on my pay checks "Stolen from your kids and grand kids" I did see FICA, SS Tax, State Tax, Fed Tax deductions listed.
Uh huh! That's right. The boomers invented ALCOA, and Monsanto, and Raytheon, and 3M, and IBM, and Chrysler, and Mobil, and Shell, and BP, and Texaco, and GM. Yup. All those polluting companies were invented by Boomers.
Let me explain to you how Social Security is supposed to work. Retired people collect Social Security while young working people pay into Social Security, so in a perfect world they would just pay for each other. But since the Baby Boomers had so many extra people, there was a surplus of workers and a surplus of Social Security money. Most educated people would have had the foresight to realize that "Hey, when we retire, we're going to need that surplus because their will not be enough people working to pay for Social Security!", but not you guys! You allowed the federal government to use it as a piggy bank. You wasted your money. If I waste a paycheck, do I get to go back to my employer and demand another one? Nope. But that's what you guys are doing. You guys LOVE to tell our generation, "Would you be able to do that/say that/get away with that with your boss/coworker/employer?" but apparently the same rules don't apply to you
@fudge factor... yes because all Gen X are like Steve Jobs... I take it you didn't invent something as revolutionary as apple products? welcome to Gen Y... All this ignorant assumptions about Gen "insert letter here", anyone that deals in absolutes is a complete @!$%#ing moron.... wft happened to basing a persons work ethic on their accomplishments...Grades and experience... instead of using technology to seek out how they choose to express themselves..... Were not going to just bend over and take greed and exploitation just because "its the way it is".... we seek employment elsewhere if we feel we are not getting a fair shake for our own interests.... It took me 5 jobs... but i did it....
Gen Y social media has given people ability to communicate freely and rapidly... this is something that is used daily to report the news... y'all don't like it go back to news papers... Its sickening to see people using Gen Y's innovation of social media to bitch about how un-innovative we are.
I don't understand how people can up and defend exploiting social media to learn everything about someone before they are hired.... work is work... my life is none of your business... your not buying a slave, your buying labor time or skill....employers were not entitled to tap phones and spy to confirm peoples views and opinions previous to the internet.... why should it be allowed now? because its easy and cost effective, I don't think so.... but at the same time people don't make it so easy, lock your pages much like you would lock the door to your home.
In many European countries it is illegal for employers to look at a potential employees Facebook page
David-2394626, you are suspended for a day for violating rule # 1 of the Code of Honor.
Uy. And this is what passes for civil discourse?
Directly from my Facebook profile.
My page is fully public.
If you don't like my views about something then by all means please yell, argue, or patiently correct me.
If you are an employer and wary of my page then excuse yourself. I am not interested in working with or for you.
Or generation &**((^
They've freely given all their private information away to Facebooks founder, who sold it all, turning him into a billionaire. They don't realize potential employers are throwing their job applications away after 3 mins of searching online and seeing what they've posted. They are hurting their future more than anyone else ever could and they don't seem to care.
don't make your @!$%# public...and don't friend your co-workers who are only co-workers. if you're actually friends i guess its ok, but just don't make things public. Lock down that privacy to only be for certain friends, and FB copied Google+ with a similar thing to Circles so you can exclude Co-Workers from your friend targeted posts.
Raised without enough limits. Don't understand boundaries.
Absolutely.
I figure that if they are ignorant enough to provide Facebook with all their details, they are too stupid to work for me.
Or maybe you aren't the type of employer I want to work for. You sound like the typical "You are young so you aren't worthy of my time" Gen Xer who creates the stereotypes about the younger generation.
Just because that new-fangled thing called the Internet is scary for someone your age doesn't mean it's a bad thing.
nice stereotype. lol
I'm a baby boomer, and I've been using online services since before many Gen-Y'ers were born. The online world doesn't scare me. I even understand the underlying technical details.
As an employer, I don't care what you do in your private life unless it reflects badly on my company. Get drunk. Chase a dozen women (or men). Wear white after Labor Day. I don't care. Just keep my company's name out of it. However, the fact that you post something stupid on your Facebook page (and keep it there) that could potentially affect your career prospects calls into serious question your judgement. And, that I do care about. It has nothing to do with my age. However, it has everything to do with my responsibilities to shareholders, other employees and customers.
Now that's just taking it too far!
Vomiting on co-workers I can understand, but not this!
I am glad you put "shareholders" first. Legally they are the most important but in actuality your company would not function without employees or customers. What a stupid system.
Um, MeFrom, I'm Gen X. 45 years old and have been using a computer since most of those 29 year olds were still in diapers. Also, I have been on the Web (you do know the difference between the Web and the Net, right?) since the beginning. My 75 year old father programmed a lot of those mainframes you take for granted.
Learn your history and open your mind before you speak and reveal yourself a fool.
FWIW, some of the folks in my office have friended my boss on facebook. He's not my friend. He's my boss. I also haven't friended my parents or siblings on facebook. They wouldn't understand the way my friends and I interact (probably wouldn't care either). I keep my privacy settngs buttoned down and un-tag all the photos of me. When I wanted the world to know what I was thinking I wrote a weekly editorial and film reviews. What's on Facebook should stay among friends.
Satanick ... don't get riled up. I wasn't putting those three groups into any particular order. However, if I were, I'd have to remember that without those investors who risked their money, there would never have been a company to hire employees or develop customer relationships. I suppose that you have a better system?
I'm pretty sure the moral of this article is that it's time to find a solution to the baby boomers. Like a final solution.
Not even close to appropriate to post something about the "Final Solution." And, if you don't know the history of the term, look it up.
pk8407i'm a babyboomer, my facebook is set to private, and even though i use my real name, you can't find it because you wouldn't know where to look! i have no problems with employers because they cant see my page, let alone find it. and you bosses out there requiring applicants to give thier fb name and password bye, see ya, don't let the door hiy you in the a$$ on the way out!
Well, I have a facebook account, but rarely post anything to it. As a baby boomer, I follow my various younger cousins, nephews, nieces, etc. To be honest, they seem to have little of value to offer each other...pretty sad, boring little lives they are leading (at least the parts posted on FB). I find I check on them less and less cuz there is very little of interest to me...maybe it's interesting to their friends...sad to think so, though. As for me, I have homes in DC and Honolulu, travel back and forth, having a great retirement. Good luck to the Gen Yers....you'll need it.
Pk8407 - You first.
You rock Grandfather! Have a great retirement. Unless we like Ipod, facebook, halo, touch this, Bluberry, Blackberry, google this, twitter that, and ENDLESS hours of video gaming; I'm sorry. But we just aren't cool to the Y's. We are however a great source of baby food and gas money!
I used to be young and idealistic too folks. I, like most of my generation, fought the good fight too but...... time taught us differently.
Business is here to make money not do the right thing. Business doesn't care about your individualism, they want your labor.
And when I joke about hiring the young females I am just describing what is done where I work. I, like anyone else, will favor the better candidate but that is usually a female not the males. Da m n, can't even take a joke people.
And as much as you hate the idea of it. I am employed by the govt. I am a supervisor and I do sit on hiring committees. And yes, I used to hate people like me when I was in my 20's before I learned that they got this way by being alive too long and trying to make a living in a corrupt society. So eatsht and die whiners. I did and the shtsandwich is startin to taste good. I like getting paid and having autonomy at work. You earn that. It isn't given to you. Fkn lil' man children.
You should stay in Texas. Or as I like to call it, Mexico.
I don't plan on leaving. I prefer my home to moving to someone else's state and taking their jobs. So sick of you foreigners (people from other states, the names matter not) coming to Texas for all the opportunities we provide and then b tching about how much you hate Texas.
Stay where your at, we prefer it and so do you obviously.
I hear that . Texas is not part of the U.S. culturally anymore. If you don't speak spanish then you can not get a job here and are treated like a foreigner and a second class citizen.
Lo siento hermano. Yo hablo espanol y soy un gabacho tambien pero los gabachos aqui eren mas intelligent que piensas. Dos lenguas eren mas mejor que solomente uno.
Evolve with the times my friend. Stop whining and learn the language.
Your right about the job thing but it isn't a problem for me, especially being white and speaking and writing spanish. We are like little gold nuggets found and held tightly for those who need the spanish skills but don't want to hire a hispanic. Sometimes racists come in handy. If I hadn't been able to speak spanish, I would not have this job of mine. One of the lesser qualified hispanic candidates would have been picked just because they spoke two languages instead of one. Bienvenidos a Tejas - Una Estado de dos lenguas.
Everyone is a second class citizen in Texas, everyone but the Corporations. There are some great exceptions though, awesome places to work.
I just have to say, I am a 24 year old business professional and writer who actually is working on an article regarding Generation Y and the workplace. Gen Yers actually have a lot to bring to the table when it comes to keeping companies up to date on the latest and greatest; however, it has been my experience that even though they feel their Facebook page is their personal page, indeed it is NOT! Anything you put on the WORLD WIDE WEB is public. There has been a lot of hype regarding privacy settings about whether or not they truly do keep your information private. My advice to fellow Gen Yers is that if you are looking for a job, or are lucky enough to have one, why take the chance of posting an inappropriate picture or comment on FB? What is it going to accomplish? Sure you can post photos of a night out on the town or a comment about your political/personal beliefs, but keep it classy! Don’t post anything you would not want your boss, or potential boss to see. Period!
You're right, employers DO look at pictures and weed out job applicants that because of their inappropriate photos, would not represent the employer in a positive, professional light.
THIS, this, this - discretion, common sense, cauution, a mindset of "damage control" + overall propriety will alleviate nearly all of the dangers of information availability and the potential consequences of your frustrated rant about your classmates/professor can have on your life & career.
We bring vigor, fresh ideas, different viewpoints, idealism, and enthusiasm to the table - as with any young, new generation. But that doesn't mean we don't have hard work ahead of us, or that we'll be able just to cruise through everything acting like an arrogant high school senior - above all else, (and as with anything in life) USE YOUR HEAD!
Joe - you can't stop other people from posting pictures of you - out of context and not your best light.
Hot - I represent the company when I'm getting paid. During my off hours I should only have to be responsible to me. I'm not selling my soul to a company that will fire me without a thought when things get tight. They have no say and, I would argue, no right to snoop on me and what I do when I'm on vacation. (I'm thinking of the teacher who drank a beer while touring an Irish Guiness factory and got fired after the picture showed up on Facebook.)
I have had jobs in the past where I was literally the local face of the company and if my boss thought I was acting unprofessionally around town he could rightly have called me on the carpet for it. All my most recent jobs, however, are ones where I get paid to provide a skill. I do quality work 8 to 5 and what I do in my free time is my business and no one else's.
I also hate the trend of HR departments going to your credit score for jobs that never touch company money.
Unfortunately, that generation bases it's self-worth on the number of "Friends" or "likes" or "followers" they have on these time-wasting networks. They don't understand the concept of consequences. They just have to have more followers. All of the things their parents were too lazy to teach them while they were growing up, they will learn the hard way in the real world. Good luck, guys.
I think that's where society in general has failed this generation. "They don't understand the concept of consequences." That's because they have not been tought that. They have been tought that even if you fail in school you will still move to the next grade, If you fail on the sports field then you still get a trophy. That along with the proliferation of "Reality"TV (that is getting further from reality every day) is teaching these kids that life is one big popularity contest and the one with the most fake friends wins.
The above exchange between Randy and David is a good example. While one at least has a valid point that the previous generation has often lived beyond their means and therefore that's what their kids learned, he still needs to know that bitching doesn't solve problems, doing solves problems. The other immediately stereotypes him as a man-child living with mom and complains about his complaining, but still fails to understand the deeper truth behind the original statement, and that is "It's extremely irresponsible and hypocritical to run up a huge tab and then complain that someone else can't afford to pay it."
That's why my profile is not open to the public. Not that there's anything bad on there. But I don't want my employer in my personal life.
Trust me, no matter what you set your private settings to on FB, once it hits the WWW it can be retrieve.
Perfect way to not over-share on Facebook: Don't post on Facebook.
Yeah the greatest generation and the boomers were such leaders to follow...how many foreign wars have we been involved in since WWII? Not one Gen Y had anything to do with the 15T debt or the wars or the other budget busting nonsense...it was a bunch of self congratulating trickle down free loaders who spent like drunken saliors and handed the kids and grandkids the bills and problems...thanks for nothing is what they should be telling us (I'm a boomer)
Gen Y is still too wet behind the ears to realize how their social behavior impacts their professional life. They'll figure it out after a few more years of maturity and a couple of knocks to the ground. Every generation does, they're no different.
You gotta love the face staples and tats from head to toe.
I especially love the big fat wooden disks they stick in their ears.
Sht makes me cry I laugh so hard. Also, Yers, girls like to be able to see your butt through your pants which is impossible when your pants are two sizes two big and hang down to your knees or ankles. Just a suggestion, where pants that fit. Oh, and your shirts don't have to make a statement either but knock yourselves out. After all, your all so very interesting.
David. I'm glad you got to where you are and are successful but how are you getting away with playing on the news board at work and using such horrible grammar? Where is a location. You wear clothing or items. Does your job know you go on a torrent of rants while at work and use such foul language. Way to be so immature and prove your point. When trying to down others try proving your point with a more well thought out and civil argument.
It is called management and I have multiple windows open. Yes, my grammar and sentence structure sometimes sucks. I ain't in college anymore and have no one to impress except the people I put out product for, the ones who pay me. I am not to fond of the two hour lunches they take though. I feel bad about that. Check back later homies.
Not much to say about this one, If you're stupid enough to post any personal or embarrassing information on the Internet, you deserve whatever happens to you as a result. Case closed.
Sometimes I can't control certain body functions, if other body functions are going on simultaneously.
The morons who lose their jobs because of stupid posts will next be seen at an OWS protest bitching because they are unemployed.
I am so grateful that I'm a Boomer-I wouldnt be a young person in today's world for anything.........back in the day (when Dinosaurs roamed the earth) we protested for Civil Rights, we protested for womens rights, we protested the war in Vietnam (my husband is a Vietnam Veteran) we protested against Tricky Dick-and created some of the BEST classic rock and roll ever. I started working at age 16 at a brand new franchise called Kentucky Fried Chicken-I have worked my whole adult life. I have also paid into Social Security and Medicare my whole adult life. I have always paid my taxes, I have always voted. I'm ready to retire from working but because of the recession I can not. I would LOVE to pass the torch......and even though I feel bad about the world we are passing to our children I also have faith in their intelligence and their competence, and their ability to handle the many problems they have "inherited" Ya'll truly are this planets future"............God Speed and Good Luck!
Back in the day you dodged drafts, took LSD, screwed around randomly and bitched about everything. Take off the rose tinted glasses.
You were just as bad, except your f*&%-ups screwed it up for at least half a dozen of generations after you.
My GRANDKIDS will be dealing with the problems stemming from you people.
wow, would you have just happily of gone if you were drafted? I bet not. I've been in combat my friend and judging by your irrational comments I doubt that you have or would even survive if so.
pk8407-I think you need a NEW pair of glasses.........you certainly are a hostile, toxic human being and THAT is YOUR contribution to your GRANDKIDS.......maybe you should try some L.S.D. (couldnt hurt)
What people say on Facebook, or anywhere else on the web, is none of any employer's d****** business. Same goes for credit reports. The practice of checking such sources by employers should be illegal. This is supposed to be a country based on free speech - never mind that most employers have no respect for the constitution in the first place, since most are owned by money grubbing, greedy, war mongering, bigoted, holier than thou Republicans. There should be government sponsored and backed unions with serious bargaining and protective powers for every employee in the U. S.
If your a moron or an irresponsible clown on your time, maybe your employer could extrapolate you would be a moron or an irresponsible clown on their time?
It's always wise to consider what you post on the internet and who might read it - even your family/kids 20 years down the road. DUH!
No, Jeff, you cannot extrapolate such a conclusion. Should we allow employers to follow us around when we visit friends to watch a ballgame, or go to a party? People often let their hair down on their own time, but are responsible employees when at work.
I fly ultralights. If a potential employer found out, he might consider me crazy, but I posses an old fashioned work ethic, and am considered an excellent employee by my current employer, as reflected on one glowing quarterly review after another.
What I do and say on my own time is protected by the constitution, and is not necessarily reflective of the kind of employee I might be - and should, therefore, be off limits information to potential employers.
Nice try but your incorrect on many of these examples.
Employers (including the government) do care what their "employees" do in their "off" time. This has been upheld by the courts. "Letting your hair down" is a subjective description, subject to lawful, ethical, moral intrepretation
Your example of flying ultralights is not a good example of "crazy" (I was a skydiving instructor for many years)
What you say and do on your time is not a blanket constitutional entitlement and your actions if conducted in public, are free for anybody to evaluate and form an opinion on. (if you don't want people to know you like kiddie porn, don't be dumb enough to "let your hair down" in public)
It's kind of hard to say i'm only irresponsible and exercise poor judgment when I'm not at work.
Actually, I would extrapolate your expected behavior from your past behavior. While you flying a light aircraft would just show me that you have fun and interesting hobbies, if instead you were posting about how much you enjoy heroine I would be concerned (Analogy forced a bit there...)
As for an expectation to privacy on a public forum like the web, there isn't any. The constitution does not protest your public actions from scrutiny. Sorry.
Clearly you have never tried to run a business....try it, it'll transform you from this sophmoric nonsense to some actual reality....in the meantime, good luck with your career and life....
No joke grandfather. I ran a business for five years and sold it the second I had a chance. What a pain it was. I was responsible for everything. I constantly had to watch my employees (otherwise known as lazy thieves). Government regulation, insurance (Katrina upped my insurance dramatically despite the fact it was no where near south Texas), and various annual permits, taxes, etc. etc. I hated being my own boss. Complete misery and overnite I had friends who thought I was a sell-out by going corporate. Feel free to judge after you have walked in those shoes. I have worn many shoes and most did not fit. Or... judge away and look stupid.
Winston Churchill once said, "if you are a conservative when your 20 you are cold hearted and if your a liberal when your 40 you are stupid".
Try and figure that one out kids, took me the better part of a decade to.
Common sense really (which comes with maturity). I never "friend" & tweet co-workers/professional contacts and likewise, include only professional contacts on linkedin.
Hmm. If I have three potential candidates in front of me, all with similar experience, similar education, and similar tone, I will look further. The candidate that boasts on the internet about his/her conquests, partying et al. is not the candidate I am interested in hiring. The youngsters today really should pay attention to what they post, and how they post. Unlike for my generation, everything these kids say is available to the whole world, forever.
I see no reason why an employer wouldn't check social media in order to find out about a potential employee. There are many behavioral trends that can be found quickly. The guy that gets drunk out of his mind every night, or boasts of stealing from his current employer is not the most reliable candidate. People that have very poor financial histories are more likely to make poor financial choices, or be subject to the temptation to steal or sell of industrial secrets. These are all valid bits of information to review when you are looking at bringing someone into your company.
My company's social media policy is not to post the name of our company on your social media page. If you do post the company name, you may not give a professional opinion unless you state it is specifically your own and not the company's. You had also better keep it PC. No name no problem. With the name, you had better watch every move and yes they have somebody checking. Common sense says you keep it all pretty clean and non controversial.