Website causing problems (3)
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Apr 25, 2006
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I read a story a little while ago about a guy named Christopher Monks who was turned down for a teaching job because of his website. Part of his website consists of his semi-stalking fan letters to Star Jones. I say "semi" because they're totally meaningless and done in "good fun". He doesn't actually mail her the letters; he posts them on his website. He calls it a hobby; just something he does as a stay-at-home dad.
When he went to an interview for a teaching position, the interviewers Googled him and were a little disturbed by the contents of his website. He tried to explain everything to them, but they didn't really listen. He didn't get the job. This story is a little like Heather Armstrong, who lost her job because of the contents of her website (though her website's contents were "objectionable and negative" and directed towards her boss and co-workers).
I read these things in the past and laughed. For anyone to take the intraweb seriously, they'd have to be pretty dumb. But then that got me thinking: What if my employer Googled me? Would I lose my job? What if I try to get a different job in the future? Will I be rejected because a large part of my private life is available for 6 billion people to read?
So I sometimes consider ending my website and deleting all its contents. Sure it would still be available through the Internet Archive and Google cache, but normal people don't know about that. And I think (and hope) I could convince a would-be job-ender that my website is relatively harmless and doesn't contain much, if any, incriminating information about myself, my employer, my family, or my acquaintainces. I guess we'll see. #technology
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Comments:
2006-07-12 08:47:28
This CollegeJournal article says that 75% of recruiters Google their potential employees. The article recommends cleaning up your online presence or getting rid of it entirely. (via Digg)
2006-07-12 12:46:20
When I went on my interview for my job, they mentioned that they googled me and had seen some of the research I had done in college, and my graduation photo and such. It was kinda weird. I half-expected your website to be mentioned, but it wasn't.
2006-07-12 13:57:58
That might be a good reason for me not to do my people-stalking: I wouldn't want to get anybody in trouble. But the stuff I find is from Google and Myspace for the most part, so it's readily accessible by anyone on earth. I just collect and organize it. But I might delete some stuff eventually.
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