By Dara Adeeyo
In the past two weeks, I have attended two seminars on journalism and Web 2.0, and in both of these seminars, I learned new things. Employers “Google” their prospective employees. Yes, that’s right; once you submit your cover letter and resume, your employer reviews your information and then looks you up on Google.com! What comes up could be damaging or harmless information.
When the Internet was first invented, it was used as a means of connection. Instead of making phone calls, people could now interact through e-mail and instant messaging. And when Google was just an itty-bitty search engine, it was solely used for student research on projects and what not. Who knew that come many years later, Google would be used as a tool to see what potential employees-college students-have going on in their lives.
There’s no doubt that we Google ourselves every once in a while to see what comes up. And if you’ve noticed things you wouldn’t want other people to find out comes up, why haven’t you changed your name?
On a serious note, does having our name and access to the Internet give our future bosses the right to search our names as well? What if an embarrassing picture from our past surfaces along with the name search? Should we, prospective employees and college students, be hired based on what is or isn’t on the Internet? I think we should; the Internet is all about what we put out there, but then again, what about incidents we can’t control? Incidents that might have to do with an article incorrectly written about us. The Internet is filled with endless information on all of us. What worries me about this is that college students are oblivious to this matter. With the Internet progressing every day, our Facebook and MySpace pages can be found with the click of a mouse. All those pictures and videos of students partying and committing inappropriate activities can and will be found. The Internet, specifically Facebook and MySpace, pages portray a part of our lives that we want the world to see. And although one may believe that such community pages can be or are set to private, there are people called hackers, or “software engineers,” that companies can hire to hack the systems of oh-so-lovely Facebook and MySpace and reveal questionable information that can make a bad impression.
Some students may argue that these pages are their personal pages, and that this is an invasion of privacy. But is it really? Honestly, let’s think about this. The Internet is free, making a community profile is free, so is all this free interactive personal space owned by the domain’s user? My guess would be yes.
As for these employers, who is to say they are wrong? The Internet, Google in particular, grants anyone and everyone access to free information on just about anything and everything. Type “Hofstra” in the Google search bar, and you will receive links from Hofstra’s website to links from articles on former Hofstra students. I mean, employers do need to know who they could be potentially hiring, and Google allows them to do that. Times are changing, and the ways of finding information about a person are too. It’s not just what the references on the resume say about the employer, it’s, well, what’s out there on the Internet. Of course, information found on the Internet does not beat actually getting to meet and greet with the person, but it does aide in one way or another.
So, to all college students: Beware of what you place on your Facebook and MySpace pages. You must all realize that times are changing, and what is now on the Internet can impact your future. I suggest deleting those questionable pictures and videos and paving a new path to your future career.
Dara Adeeyo is a freshman print journalism student. You may e-mail her at [email protected].