During our first Digital History class the question of accuracy was raised in response to Kheraj’s article “Will Twitter Kill My Chance at an Academic Job?” Kheraj’s take on the subject seems to be that despite popular belief, hiring committees in academic institutions are not currently investigating online activity to screen job candidates. That’s excellent news... for those of us that wish to pursue further education or academic jobs after graduation. However, while this may be true for academic positions, it doesn’t necessarily hold up for all job positions out there. And, as my peers and I embark on the Public History program and begin to establish a professional presence online via Blogspot and Twitter, I think it’s reasonable to be concerned about the consequences (mis)using them could potentially have on our career chances outside of academia.In class, Dana asked the question I think a lot of us were probably thinking, which is “how is it [our use of social networking tools on our personal time] any of their [employers] business?”
The truth is, depending on your job, it is their business. People who hold jobs in positions of public trust like politicians, police officers and teachers are considered to have jobs in which they are never 100 per cent off-duty (forgive me, I forget what the official term for this is). This means that when you act in the public sphere you are responsible not only to yourself but also to your employer for those actions. And, since the internet falls under the category of “public sphere,” it is possible that potential employers may look to your online presence when interviewing you.
In the June 2009 issue of Professionally Speaking (the magazine produced by the professional organization I belong to as an Ontario Certified Teacher), an article entitled “Can We Be Friends? Watching Your Electronic Footprint” addressed these very concerns. One of the many examples in the article describes a school superintendent in Missouri who asks teacher candidates if they have Facebook or MySpace accounts. If the answer is yes, he offers them use of his computer and asks them to bring up their page for him to see.
Bottom line, I don’t think that anyone should shy away from using social networking media for fear that it may damage their employability, but it doesn’t hurt to exercise some caution as you build your online persona(s).
[Note: The photo at the top of this post shows a bulletin board display put together by a class of 3rd graders at Fallingbrook PS in my hometown of Whitby, Ontario. The board was part of their teacher’s efforts to explore the public nature of the internet.]
