For some Hopkins students, the social networking Web site Facebook.com is a useful means of keeping up with what's going on in their friends' lives. For others, Facebook is a directory where students can quickly look up classmates they wish to contact. For still others, the site is a dating service, a place to post a flirtatious message to that cute girl or guy from stats class.
However, most students are unaware that Facebook is also useful to another group of people: employers. More than ever before, potential employers are using Facebook to collect information on candidates. Students are surprisingly unaware that the photos they post from that beer funneling contest may break the deal on a summer internship or post-graduation job.
Unfortunately, the Career Center isn't doing a good enough job of informing students of just how damaging their Facebook profile can be. As Facebook becomes more popular with employers, it is essential that the Career Center educate students on how seemingly private Facebook profiles may imperil their job opportunities.
From an employer's perspective, the incentives for snooping around are enormous. Based on limited information, glossed up by the candidate himself, an employer must decide whether the potential employee is worth hiring. A bad hire can result in thousands of dollars of wasted wages and training expenses. Furthermore, protective labor laws make it costly and risky for employers to lay off even the worst workers.
For these reasons, employers are always seeking novel ways of getting the "dirt" on potential employees. "Employers say it's like checking references," said Melissa Ziegler, assistant director of employer relations at the Career Center. "Students think that [Facebook] is private because it's password protected, but if it's on the Internet, it's fair game." Further, Ziegler noted that most recruiters who interview at Hopkins are themselves alumni who have access to Facebook.
It's morally reprehensible and a complete invasion of privacy for employers to use Facebook to assess candidates. Although there are ways for employers to gain access to the Facebook network, it is intended to be a closed resource for social purposes. I don't let employers into my house to look through my photo albums, nor do I allow them to listen to my phone messages and hear what my friends say to me.
When an alumnus signs on to Facebook as an employer rather than as a former student, particularly without the knowledge or consent of the potential employee, it crosses a moral boundary that shouldn't be crossed.
Unforunately, reality trumps morality. Though we may disagree with the actions of these employers, the best we can do is sanitize our profiles. Another solution is to take advantage of Facebook's privacy features, which allow you to restrict other users' access to your profile.
Take a quick look around the Hopkins version of Facebook, and you'll find a wealth of damaging information about students. There's the Facebook group called "420 Compliant," devoted to marijuana aficionados. There are pictures of students drinking, getting lap dances at strip clubs and flipping off the camera. According to Ziegler, even bad language in a Facebook profile can reflect poorly on your character.
To save students some serious career trouble, the Career Center needs to work harder to educate students on the dangers of posting damaging personal information on Facebook. Career counselors at Hopkins and elsewhere have been receiving warnings about Facebook from professional organizations such as the Chronicle for Higher Education and the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Yet students themselves have heard hardly a word of warning. It's time for the University to step up and let students know about this new risk to our job prospects.
In the meantime, remember:Facebook is more public than you think. If you're currently looking for a job, post with caution. Cut out the expletives. Watch out for addiction-insinuating posts on your wall. And for God's sake, delete the lap dance pictures.
--Joshua Robinson is a junior international studies major from Potomac, Md.
