Myspace and marketing/jobsearching

[cta-music.com]

I have been looking to get hired for a part time job for massage (to do along with the one I have now). I keep hearing that potential employer's use the internet as a starting point, and often google names of applicants, or just look them up on Myspace, Facebook, ect.
I don't have accounts with any of those websites and have never wanted one, but I am starting to worry that by not having one, I could be being skipped over for interviews. Is it possible I am being looked over for not having a blog on one of these websites?

 

[mothers of invention]

I am not sure that you would be passed over for not having an online social network profile. If anything, I would think the only reason they would search an applicant would be to find out if their personal character is somehow "less than desirable". Maybe I am really out of touch with corporate America, since I haven't had a 'real' job in almost 5 years.

I thought I remembered a recent thread where someone mentioned a friend or family member got a job (IT related?) as a result (maybe?) of one of these sites. My searching skills (or memory) have not yeilded results.

 

[einreb]

I can't speak for other employers, but we NEVER use social networking sites as a basis for hiring decisions. A successful applicant is determined by how they handle the application and interview process. If they are a strong candidate, we require a hands-on demonstration of their skills as a final determining factor.

 

[smarge22]

a culturally growing necessity

This would, of course, depend on the employer. Younger, savy employers may use these social networks as a source of information about you, that you wouldn't readily or accurately provide. Such as the quality of your social life, and the potentiality of that to pierce your professional life, or simply to gain a better understanding of how you deal with daily external factors such as stress in general. You may, or may not, have seen optional fields on various applications for MySpace or FaceBook; you can bet then it's something that matters to those specific employers, in such cases. As well, some individuals are taking it upon themselves to paint/demonstrate a social stability and compentency with these networks and thus reference them on resumes, that is of course up to you. But in this light, having one can prove to be a powerful social tool/aide, even in the aspect of employment, whereas not having one robs you of this potential, and worst yet, in the case of an employer whom does reference such things, you are short a vital piece of prospective information.

 

[reis]

My accounts are set to private and I would never open my life up that much to any employer, even though I have nothing to hide. I think having a place on an application for myspace/facebook and then using that as a determining factor for hiring could border on discrimination of some sort and fall somewhere near the "illegal questions" for an interviewer to ask. If it's supposed to be illegal for an interviewer to ask how old you are, what makes employers think they have a right to a private social site?
(check--new button! ha)

 

[RomanceNINJA]

Discrimination

Simply addressing the issue of legality or discrimination. There are very specific elements of personal information that qualify as discriminating content. It's important to understand that despite what qualifies as discriminating information, we can still ask or provide said information optionally, as well there is really no method of enforcement for whom is using this discriminating information or not. We can debate all day about the morality or legality of it, but simply put it still comes down to the specific individuals at play, and their personal decisions. As stated before, this is an optional voucher of information that can be displayed as confidence, when we lack this information, to some employers (not all), this may be construed as a lack of that confidence, or lack of social responsibility or any other deluded opinion. Just keep in mind, that if an application asks for it (as some will) the employer relative to that application more than likely has strong opinions on the matter, regardless of anything logical, legal, or otherwise.