Facebook and employers?

Maybe a dumb question...but I don't do facebook so I don't have a clue.

My husband just ask me..how employers(present/future) look at a persons facebook page? Don't you have to "friend" them first? How do employers do a check prior to hiring without friending a person..do they have unlimited access to facebook or what?

like I said I don't have a clue because I don't really know much about the whole facebook/twitter thing.

thanks.

reply to post by Neopan100


It basically comes down to your security settings on facebook...what's public, what's not. Not only that, but if you have facebook friends at work, who have you boss as a friend...well...then they might access as a friend of a friend.

It was actually due to this issue while job hunting that I closed the account under my name and opened an account under a pseudonym.

you do have to friend a person to be able to talk to them or comment on their page but also you cannot view if there pages are locked but some people have thier setting as private some have it open so it all depends on the setting of your account

karma

Most of the people getting caught by prospective employers, credit companies, etc. are found on FB because they have their profile settings to public. If you set your profile to private, hide your friends list from public view and also set your setting so that your name cannot be searched, then it's much more difficult (i.e. a prospective employer would have to know someone who also knows you and is also on your friends list, as an example)..

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ETA: Well, 3rd poster is the charm, right? Lol...

you beat me too it arrus75


second line !

reply to post by Neopan100


Hey, nice to see another person out there that does not use Facebook or Twitter! But here is my theory...and since, like you, I do not use them I do not know for sure... but if you google a person's name and they have a Facebook page that contains their real name on it, it will show up. Now whether or not the employer would have full access I don't know.

I always keep my privacy settings maxed out. But sometimes that's not enough. So I have a general personal policy which I highly recommend. Keep Facebook limited to close friends and family only - no acquaintances, no coworkers, not the hottie you just met at the club, and not any Joe Schmoe you met in an online forum... Close friends and family ONLY. I keep coworkers and acquaintances on LinkedIn. Everything else I do anonymously on Twitter.

The other thing I do is immediately untag myself out of ANY photos I don't want to be tagged in. I have a strict policy amongst my FB friends and family - tag me without permission and I unfriend you without question or warning.