Invading Your Social Media Privacy

When you apply for a job, your online identity is being poked and prodded by potential employers to a degree that is just plain scary.
 
Get this: 79 percent of recruiters say they have reviewed online profiles as part of the hiring process. And a healthy majority (70 percent), rejected candidates because of personal information they found.
 
What kind of information?
 
One can only imagine because HR managers and recruiters are staying tight-lipped about their "investigative research," according to Teena Rose, a career advice expert at careerealism.com.
 
This trend is not unique to the United States. In the United Kingdom, 41 percent of employers rejected candidates based on information found online; in Germany, 16 percent did so, and in France, 14 percent.
 
It’s understandable that employers may want to conduct due diligence to avoid compromising their organization, but Rose raises a good point: employers might take pause to consider whether Facebook stalking is ethical and how deeply they should probe candidates' social media profiles. You could make a strong case that nearly everyone—even those snooping employers—has a few skeletons in the closet.
 
We want to hear what you think. Is it fair for an employer to allow the spring break photos or a racey comment to outweigh four years of relevant experience? Should they look in the first place?
 
(photo credit: Nicolás Espinosa, C.C 2.0)