Prudence dictates that we don’t just blurt out whatever comes to mind, especially on the Internet. According to careerbuilder.com, 51% of employers have decided not to hire a potential candidate based on what they found on Internet search engines.
Here are some of the reasons why people didn’t get hired:
- 31% lied about their qualifications
- 25% had poor communication skills
- 24% were linked to criminal behavior
- 19% bad-mouthed a previous employer or co-worker
- 19% posted information about drinking or using drugs
- 15% shared confidential information from previous employers
- 12% lied about an absence from work
- 11% posted provocative or inappropriate photographs
- 8% used unprofessional screen names
If you Google my name, Trevor Snyder, you’ll come up with this blog, and my photography and writing site, as well as several links to another Trevor Snyder who is a scientist. What you won’t come up with is anything I’ll regret saying or doing. The bottom line is that you shouldn’t put anything you are not willing to take responsibility for on the Internet, where it will live on long after you have stopped thinking about it.
Information can be used as a weapon, but if you are the one who posted it about yourself, then guess who is to blame when a potential employer doesn’t call you back? The flip side of that coin is this: why would you want to work for a company where you’ll never really fit in?