Don't use social media? Unemployed? You can claim dissability, I guess???

So I was listening to the news the other day and they were talking about employment, how to find jobs, what to do to make yourself seem appealing and how to sell yourself to where you are trying to get a job.

One of the things they focused HEAVILY on was your social media. According to the experts about 95% of employers will do a background check of sorts on you through google, twitter / facebook etc. If they see questionable posts and stuff you may be passed over for someone else..

But here is the thing that is BS.

If you are NOT on social media, and have no online presence at all, employers see this as a HUGE RED FLAG and will just delete your resume / application. Apparently they see it as someone trying to hide something nefarious or at best that you are completely incompetent with technology.

I have never used social media with my real name. I'm old school, I use alias's and don't voluntarily make everything about my public info. I believe in privacy, and as a webmaster and someone who knows tech I know bout metadata etc. I know that they sell your metadata to other 3rd party companies and that things you upload to the social media networks can actually be used without your permission, say they want to use your face or your kids face in some ads and they make money off it. Anyways, I know all about that type of stuff and was never interested in social media in the beginning either because I saw the big picture of how Social Media can actually harm you, especially if you use your real name.

Well, now, apparently, I would be considered unemployable due to the fact that I am a ghost online. No civilians or companies would be able to find information on me because I don't exist online as my real self. We haven't even mentioned skills or education or talent, just the fact that they can't find you online is enough to say no thanks to your application.

This is huge discrimination if you ask me and should be illegal. I believe in privacy and know how making your info public is a security risk, but unless you do that now then you are not longer considered for a job - therefore you are DISABLED, as in not able to get a job. Sure it's from companies and people discriminating against you based on the fact that you believe in privacy, but it is now a disability.

This is messed up stuff if you ask me, what do you all think about this? I'm not looking for a job myself right now, I've been self employed for 4 years after accidentally creating a decent business online by messing around and learning new tech / coding by myself. I'm pretty smart and learn best on my own, but If things ever tank I have no references as I'm my own boss and nobody would ever look at my application anyways because I don't exist online.

Nobody out there called it a disability, I am calling it that because that's what it is, I wonder when this will be recognized by our governments.
Almost everyone has some presence online, but a small few like myself do not, therefore we are also minorities, and this is discrimination against minorities.

Any thoughts?

I know several people that were fired because of facebook posts. Of course one was posting pictures form the golf course the day he called in sick.

It's a small world after all...

a reply to: DumpMaster

While this is still warm---

In Your opinion, since the proliferation of the cellular phone, do You think work production has increased or decreased? Not that the U.S. makes anything any longer, but has productivity gone up or gone down?

I never remember driving by a long line of folks waiting to use the pay phone.. What happened to all of a sudden make these calls important?

When I worked "Narcotics" I was issued a pager and Nextel™ It was 1998 when the pager was getting phased out. I used the phone to work with "Confidential Informants" these are folks who instead of just 'taking their medicine' (pun intended) these folks would tell on others (shirking responsibility- yet NEVER their #1 supplier)

What was ironic is some Patrol cops would make arrests because they's espy a street urchin that had the makings of a drug dealer, usually Loitering in a Hugh drug area. Those items? pager, cell phone and a large amount of $$, the same things We had in our pockets..

Understandable. I don't use social media and I wouldn't hire me. I'm quite sinister and clandestine.

a reply to: DumpMaster

More and more I'm beginning to wonder if this is what they meant by the mark of the beast.

You don't have Facebook or don't want to have an online presence ? Well then I guess in the future you won't be able to get much done in society.

I'm citing your example as proof.

a reply to: DumpMaster

Its a good idea to put your real self out there with minimal info...for that very reason.

I've used other names for the same reason. If I used my stage and/or my author name....the whole 1sy Google search page and 1/2 the 2nd and 3rd...the result would all be me or about me.

I've spent 50 years keeping the 2 of me separate so I can have a real life. And yes...I pay income tax on both I.D.'s....

If an employer judges you based on LACK of a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc...then you should consider yourself lucky not to be chosen. Who would want to work for a boss like that? Messed up priorities. Your online habits have nothing to do with your work ethic.... I wouldn't want to work anywhere either where my co-workers spend more time taking selfies, and updating their twitter than getting work done. Workplace is for work..not socializing, just my preference.
I love my social networking as much as the next person...but it's personal, and has nothing to do with how I work. It's how I choose to spend my time when NOT at work.

originally posted by: threeeyesopen
a reply to: DumpMaster

More and more I'm beginning to wonder if this is what they meant by the mark of the beast.

You don't have Facebook or don't want to have an online presence ? Well then I guess in the future you won't be able to get much done in society.

I'm citing your example as proof.

Lol, I love that last line, it's hilarious.
I didn't say I don't use social media, I said I don't use it with my personal information.
My twitter account just hit 100K 10 minute ago.

Also, mark of the beast is a reference to Christian mythology, so it is not real. The concept though could make sense somewhat.

yeah since 2005 i have not had a face book account or any other type of social account and getting a job was very very hard. recently I got a linken account and applyed for jobs amazingly i got calls back quickly. just use a professional social network like i did and link up friends.

I see both sides of this...

I have an online presence because in my business, clients often google me. My online presence though is strictly business related. I started blogging back before blogging was normal.

If you aren't on LinkedIn you are missing out. My wife is a huge user of LinkedIn and it really helps her job prospects. She is an executive and you pretty much need a presence to get access to the better higher paying corporate jobs.

On the other hand, if you are stupid enough to post pictures like some idiots viewable to the public doing the gangster pose, smoking weed, and other dumb sh*t you aren't smart enough to get hired.

There is a difference between having an online presence to further your career versus just over sharing questionable material.

originally posted by: digital01anarchy
yeah since 2005 i have not had a face book account or any other type of social account and getting a job was very very hard. recently I got a linken account and applyed for jobs amazingly i got calls back quickly. just use a professional social network like i did and link up friends.

True, but then you are surrendering your personal info to 3rd parties to do what they want to with, including selling it or giving it to others who will use it against you (insurance companies for example).

originally posted by: Bluntone22
I know several people that were fired because of facebook posts. Of course one was posting pictures form the golf course the day he called in sick.

It's a small world after all...

I actually re-purposed a term that fits what you said quite well.

Those people who got fired because of their facebook posts.. They got FaceF**ked

a reply to: DumpMaster

I work in IT (tech support for a school) and I don't think anyone in my department uses social media. My professor in college avoided it like the plague.

It's my experience that most people in IT avoid it because they know going into the field what it can do to you, if you post the wrong thing online. In college my professors would tell us horror stories about people losing their jobs over stupid stuff like pictures of them drinking on myspace, so we got the message.

In fact my professor did a "background check" on us by running our names through google, myspace, and facebook. He said any potential employer will do this same thing to you when you put in an application. He recommended we do searches on ourselves on a regular basis to see what turns up. For an IT professional the only thing that should turn up on you is either nothing or your up to date resumes on job sites (which is understandable). The less personal information about you out there, the better.

I can't remember if my current boss asked me if I used social media when I was interviewed. They probably did, and if so I know I would have told them no. It didn't earn me any red flags.

Also if you use social media under an alias, make sure you never post a picture of your face to it, otherwise the alias means nothing. It's something so easy to do, so I really actually don't use social media at all even under an alias. "Age of cell phones" like another poster said.

If someone told you that not having a social media account is a red flag, that might just be the corporate culture at that one place. I would still try dropping applications at other places.

You should copyright that!

FaceF**ked

a reply to: DumpMaster

a reply to: DumpMaster

I like that!

I don't do Facebook and don't use or have any other social media "Presence".
I have a job thankfully but if this is for real and becomes standard practice (maybe it already is?) then I think it's really not a good thing... punished and restricted and discriminated against just because you don't want to Tweet your every move or be on facebook waffling crap like everyone else.

Just sad...

If employers are googling potential employees names then I am very screwed cause my first and last name is very common, yet when you google it, the first page of results are all news articles to rapists. Maybe I need to change my name..

ATS and an art forum are the closest thing I have to social media, everything else is all fake names, fake emails, and absolutely no facebook or anything like that. LOL no wonder I am having a hard time finding work. Then again if I google my name a whole lot of other people with the same name I have show up and none of them are me, I wonder how the employer would know which ones which without meeting me firsthand?

op:
I don't use any social media, and looking me up by name won't find more than my work and location history.
I've currently got a fancy-tastic job, so the premise that they dumped my resume the moment they punched my name into google seems a bit flawed.

I wouldn't be surprised if it threw a red flag with HR, though, since it's very out of the norm for people these days.

originally posted by: lordcomac
op:
I don't use any social media, and looking me up by name won't find more than my work and location history.
I've currently got a fancy-tastic job, so the premise that they dumped my resume the moment they punched my name into google seems a bit flawed.

I wouldn't be surprised if it threw a red flag with HR, though, since it's very out of the norm for people these days.

You're right, this isn't something that's always been around. This is a fairly new thing that is happening and don't think this is the end game either. Being tech-wise and knowing how metadata and companies work, I would assume that their are some companies who run algorithms that use the API of twitter / facebook etc to automatically gather intel and flush out those who can't be identified.

Almost all applications for jobs or resumes sent in are digital now which means algorithms can do all the work within seconds saving the company a lot of time and money.

I would imagine 3rd party companies will eventually appear where you can have all resumes and applications go through them where their algorithms do it, so even small companies in the future will have easy access to discriminating against those who believe in privacy.

By 2030 50% of all current jobs will be fully automated either by robotics or AI. Quantum computing and DNA storage are right around the corner.

This is not looking good in the long run for those like myself who believe in privacy and have no interest in displaying all our personal details publicly.