Manager Tools: Navigating Social Media for Professionals and Managers

Personal Guidance on Social Media

• ⚠️ Public social media sites like MySpace and Facebook are not private; anything posted can be seen by recruiters and others.
• 💡 Recruiters may use MySpace or Facebook as a pretext to contact candidates, sometimes fabricating the source of their information, which is a misleading and dangerous sign.
• 📌 It's crucial to be aware that your online presence can be misconstrued or used to draw negative conclusions, a concept referred to as "Murphy's Facebook law."

Managerial Guidance on Social Media

• ✅ Managers are encouraged to look at the social media pages of their direct reports and candidates, as it's not illegal or inherently unethical.
• 🚫 HR prohibitions against looking at these sites are often based on a fear of legal risk and a "least common denominator" management approach, discouraging managers from truly knowing their teams.
• ⚠️ Discovering objectionable content, such as posts endorsing hatred, bias, or attacks on the employer, can create legal exposure for the organization.
• 🔍 Examples of problematic content include vulgar language, racial slurs, or posts that attack colleagues or the company, which can have serious career repercussions.

Interviewing and Candidate Evaluation

• 🚀 Social networking sites serve as a public resume; managers should Google candidates and review their pages to assess their suitability and potential impact on the company's image.
• 💡 While personal lifestyle choices are generally private, poor professional judgment displayed online, such as posting pictures of excessive drinking, can be a reason to decline a candidate.
• 🤔 Managers should use their own judgment to assess content, similar to Justice Potter's definition of pornography ("I know it when I see it"), and not be afraid to say no to candidates who exhibit questionable behavior.

Feedback and Risk Management

• 💬 For direct reports with objectionable content, managers should provide constructive feedback, explaining the potential professional repercussions without necessarily demanding content removal.
• ⚠️ It's important to understand that even if content is removed, cached pages or past impressions can persist, and the longer one waits to address issues, the greater the repercussions.
• 📈 For candidates, if there's any hesitation or concern about objectionable content, the recommendation is to simply say no and pass on the candidate.
• 🤝 While social media offers opportunities for personal connection and professional networking (e.g., LinkedIn), it's essential to balance personal expression with professional risk reduction.