The Importance of Being GoogledSo I'm talking with my coworkers the other day about the student internship program that we all have a hand in managing, and we begin to discuss one of the assignments where students take stock of their "internet presence." Students have to look at their social networking profiles, online resumes, and even their email address to determine what a potential employer might find when searching for them online. We ask the students to fill out a brief form and then discuss what changes they might make to improve or "fix" their internet presence.
I mentioned that I always respond to this assignment by briefly googling each student and commenting on what I find. Some examples of my previous comments:
"As far as your internet presence goes, I like that you are taking precautionary measures like blocking your pictures on Facebook. While I think your Facebook profile picture is especially adorable, you might want to consider putting up a picture where your bra isn't peeking out. I know that may seem like a minor issue, but you want potential employers to be thinking about your achievements, not nitpicking little details in your wardrobe."
"I'm glad the self-audit made you consider making some changes to your Facebook profile, although my searches turned up nothing but your accolades and group memberships. That paints an impressive picture!"
The strange part (for me) was that one of my co-workers replied by saying that she would never "google" her students without asking for their permission first. I replied by saying that the point of the exercise was to help students realize that anyone could search for information about them at any time. My other coworker suggested that by pointing out objectionable material that students had failed to mention, we would be, in essence, accusing them of lying. I argued that they might not have a good sense of how certain photos or information might portray them, and that we do them a disservice by not going over this information with the eyes of someone older and more experienced. Still, the first co-worker was firm: she felt that googling someone without their knowledge was an intrusion.
Eventually it became clear that we had irreconcilable differences of opinion and I moved the discussion along to other topics, but my co-worker's viewpoint just flat out baffled me. I liken it to someone putting up a billboard and then you have to ask that person's permission before you go look at the billboard.
My question to you guys: Is there any validity to her argument? To me it seems completely illogical, but perhaps I am missing something. And do you think there are many people who hold similar opinions? Trying to see the other side of this thing.
P.S. Also, I think we should have a post about the recently established "The Back Catalog" blog. Putting it in my RSS feed as we speak!
1 comment:
I kind of see where your co-worker is coming from, but it's an old-fashioned argument. She's probably not on Facebook, doesn't realize these things are public profiles, etc. So to her you're immorally snooping around.
She's failing to see the reality that you're just doing what a prospective employer would do, and therefore helping them. She probably doesn't actually believe that companies Google people applying for jobs, whereas they actually do.
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