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Job market is hot, but don't let your online profile cool things off for you. (AP Photo / Nick Ut, file) Online profiles may put brakes on job searchUpdated Sat. Oct. 6 2007 7:30 AM ET Caroline Shaheed, Special to CTV.ca Have you checked what happens when you Google your name? Career experts suggest you take a look at the search results -- your future job may depend on it. A survey commissioned by The Creative Group, a specialized staffing service for marketing, advertising, creative and web professionals, shows half of advertising and marketing executives search online for information about prospective hires. Among those, 14 per cent have decided, based on their findings, against hiring a prospective candidate. Ron Telpner, chairman and CEO of the ad agency The BrainStorm Group, told CTV.ca he always performs online checks for potential hires. "We check MySpace and Facebook; you can become someone's friend really easily," Telpner said. "We ask if we can get onto the profile, and I don't know if that's strictly kosher or not, but we do what we need to do to get background." And if he finds something he doesn't like, such as "those shots of inappropriate dressing, over-drinking, those kinds of things people sometimes celebrate on their sites," the candidate is likely not to get a foot in the door. It is safe to say, Telpner said, that some candidates have never even been called for a first interview. At the same time, a personal profile can work in a candidate's favour. Telpner is a fan of Jamaica and Bob Marley, and if a candidate has included something about those subjects, it might strike a chord with him, "because you see some like-mindedness." Tips for an impressive Internet profile:
CTV.ca spoke with a young woman who had a potentially career-limiting experience with the Internet. She was being considered for a new role and some of her colleagues Googled her name. Revealing pictures from her university days popped up, even though the site had been abandoned years earlier. Her supervisor advised her to remove the images before putting her name forward. "Fortunately, the guy who'd owned the domain was going to school to be a media lawyer. It took quite a few a calls (from him) and some threatening emails, but eventually the ISP removed it," said the young woman. But that wasn't the end of it. She also had to worry about websites that cache, or save, Internet pages that have been deleted. A friend sent a letter to the waybackmachine (a website that allows users to visit web pages that may no longer be available) explaining the situation, and to her surprise it was taken down. "The same thing worked for Google's cache, so within a couple weeks, my site went from being the first hit when searching my name, to nowhere to be found." The question arises, should employers discuss such findings with their prospective hires? Anita Lerek, president of the Advocate Placement Agency, has considered the implications of online reference checks. "If you see somebody horsing around in the nude in a photograph, are you allowed to use that information in your hiring decision? And are you supposed to tell the candidate about that?" She liked the hiring process to the "Wild West." "Basically, hirers can do whatever they want because they are under no obligations to justify their actions," Lerek said. Telpner feels it's just another way to get information and ensure the candidate he is investing in has the "right fit." "If you can show me creativity, if you can capture my interest, if you can connect online, well then you can communicate. And that is something that we might be interested in," Telpner said. Comments are now closed for this story Scott It's sad and hypocritical, when some potential employers think their employees must have a bland, don't-offend-anyone (i.e. secret) life outside the workplace. Quite frankly, I don't want to work for an employer that judges my life to be 'unacceptable'. I have a very public profile (personal website and facebook), where I am very open about myself. Over the past seven years, I have been hired as a senior executive by two companies. When I started, everyone knew of me from my personal website. As a gay man with a spouse of 21 years, it was/is fantastic to work at those companies, knowing I was accepted and supported. My advice, then, is to use those public profiles to your advantage. Allow the hypocritical companies to filter themselves out, without wasting your valuable interview time. Al The internet is a public domain (there is no privacy whatsoever). Any item submitted is like a bullet, you cannot take it back. Mike All I have to say is that I'm happy I don't work for Mr. Telpner. He is obviously ashamed and embarassed by people who have had a great time and are open about it. Just because you go out and drink have a crazy night with some friends, whether it be a birthday, graduation, homecoming, it doens't mean you are a horrible person or bad work and won't fit in.... Jason The biggest problem with Facebook is that anybody can post a picture of you. Even if your privacy settings are jacked up to the max, you could still have some unflattering pics being shown to lots of people, since most people have hundreds of friends listed. James This dude makes hiring decisions based on the music the candidates like? Sounds like they need a better hiring committee. These employers need to learn that personal lives are just that - personal. Judge a candidate based on their qualifications, experience, and references. Not based on what pictures they posted to Facebook. Ian Anyone stupid enough to put such "personal" things on the web is just that - stupid-. You can join Facebook and use it as a great tool to keep in touch but watch out for some of the Applications! (I am over 60). I just 'Googled' myself and see a lot about what I have written, the groups I belong to BUT nothing that I wouldn't want a potential employer to know because I didn't put anything up like that in the first place. We are in control of what we put on the web and we reap the benefits and the consequences - no one else is to blame. Chris Companies are in the wrong by checking out people's personal profiles and basing their hiring on them. It's wrong on many levels. Hiring is supposed to be fair and equal and based on one's qualifications for the job they are applying for. Not based on whether or not they party or hang out or read or shop. These sites are made so people can make friends, not get or lose jobs. Tom I agree with the first poster that said they would never want to work for this guy in the first place. Someone that hires people on whether they like the same music as him over whether they are qualified is a joke. I hope eventually get gets caught and sued as what he's doing is just another form of discrimination. Most people in their 20's and 30's I imagine have pictures on the internet. Profiles and everything. What we do outside of work is our business and our business alone as long as it is legal. My employer should have no say whatsoever I notice buddy wasn't brave enough to name his company because he was probably afraid of the backlash. RGP Telpner didn't say that what was found on the internet was the SOLE basis for non-hiring. Obviously, Telpner is looking at applications/resumes, weeding out those not suitable to contact, and then going to the internet for further information. If I have 6 people that I would contact and searched all 6 on the internet and found less than savoury activities on 2 of them....well that's 2 fewer interviews that I need to conduct. Grow up people. Use a little common sense and don't take EVERYTHING you read at face value.
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