Facebook is getting ready to roll out their timeline feature.
Is this really a good thing?
If you understand social media and what it means to your job then you can not truly be yourself on social media.
Lets be truthful our persona outside of work is different than when we are in work. We have a diversity of friends and some may not be what we call stellar in the eyes of corporate but we enjoy them as friends.
Will this be more ammunition for HR to eliminate good candidates? Will it be more ammunition for HR to use in your reviews?
Will they take into account that the timeline shows that you have changed over time and that you understand social media and its ramifications in the business world?
Will the past be forgiven for a better future if improvements have been noticed?
I think HR will use the Facebook Timeline in the wrong way as they have in the past. That is just my personal opinion.
I see Facebook as a personal site not a business site. When we have had a hard day at work we like to unwind and cut loose. We can use Facebook to do that to talk to our friends to see what they are up to. We may make some off colored remarks kidding around with some of our less than stellar friends. But in this age we have to adhere to the rules of social media and are not allowed to be ourselves but to be this facade for the sake of our jobs.
When I am looking at candidates I do not care what is on their Facebook page, what I care about is the person before me.
Does this person have the knowledge and talent to the job before them and can they continue to be a contributor in the future. Can I work with this person and can they work with me?
If this person has the possibility of being my best talent should I not hire them because the like to base jump or bungee jump? Should I not hire this 28 year old because they posted a not so flattering party pic back when they were in college?
If I used that sort of criteria then I would never hire anyone would I?
Each generation has a different view of the world and how things should be. We would be better off understanding this diversity of the generations instead of trying to make everyone fit the same mold.
It would be hypocritical of us to say that we have never done anything in our past that we are not proud of today. The advantage some of us might have is that there were not computers and social sites back then were we would record such deeds. So why should we condemn those today just because they have an avenue to post what they thought would make them cool to their friends at the time.
Do we not continually grow and mature with time? Then why do we act like we haven’t when it comes to certain things.
Like I said I refuse to take someones past on Facebook into account when I interview them for a position. I know the saying that past performance shows the future.
Well I have learned from my mistakes and have moved forward as I am sure many of the younger generations have or will as the grow and mature.
We all make mistakes when we first start out. It is learning the lesson and moving on that counts.
We do not live in the past we strive to discover the future.
Tags: attitude, compassion, culture, emotional intelligence, evolution, Human nature, Insight, Leadership, thoughts
January 30, 2012 at 4:54 am |
Terrific content, Joe. You should make sure all hiring managers see this.
January 30, 2012 at 9:48 pm |
Ray,
Thank you for the great comment. The power of the net is so that you can spread the word. Tell your friends and colleagues about this blog.