Should business have limits to what they can background check?

[Crissi]

Businesses have every right to do this. If they want you to represent the company --they call the shots. You are more than welcome to work elsewhere.

"Hello. Thank you for applying to the company but we feel you aren't a good fit at this time. Thank you for your time and we wish you good luck"

or for general advice: "When applying to the company, please look professional at all times and be careful with your social media posts. We believe social media is an extension of our image as a company"

How hard is that? It accomplishes them not wanting that image without being a complete unprofessional idiot about it. Like, they have no room to shame her for unprofessional pictures when their own actions are just as much lol.

[crewskater]

"Hello. Thank you for applying to the company but we feel you aren't a good fit at this time. Thank you for your time and we wish you good luck"

or for general advice: "When applying to the company, please look professional at all times and be careful with your social media posts. We believe social media is an extension of our image as a company"

How hard is that? It accomplishes them not wanting that image without being a complete unprofessional idiot about it. Like, they have no room to shame her for unprofessional pictures when their own actions are just as much lol.

Do you feel the same about tweets that might be offensive to some?

[Crissi]

Do you feel the same about tweets that might be offensive to some?

In that the company should just keep the rejections private because companies should be held to a professional standard? Or also should only provide general advice and not use actual examples publicly?

Literally a company has the right to reject you for whatever reason that doesn't violate federal or state civil rights laws, so that goes for tweets to, but if you're gonna be a frat bro about be expect backlash. Kinda like that journalist who tried to expose that guy in Iowa.

[crewskater]

In that the company should just keep the rejections private because companies should be held to a professional standard? Or also should only provide general advice and not use actual examples publicly?

Literally a company has the right to reject you for whatever reason that doesn't violate federal or state civil rights laws, so that goes for tweets to, but if you're gonna be a frat bro about be expect backlash. Kinda like that journalist who tried to expose that guy in Iowa.

Isn't it sort of assumed to act professional for job postings? Sure, it's subjective and varies from one to the next, but it's not the company's responsibility for you to act a certain way. What needs to be done is children need to be educated early on that what they post online, will eventually come back to them one way or another. I'm not sure why they would make rejections public, usually that stays between the company and the applicant.

[Mistame]

These types of stories are stupid as fuck. It starts off with what's apparently some jealous hag ranting about someone having bikini pictures on their private social media account and then ends up with the "victim" overreacting by claiming that she was "objectified" and then sending her story to some "victim" twitter account who then exaggerated it even further. Idiots, the lot of 'em.

The reality is that the world is full of self-righteous cunts. If you have to give out your social media info, set it to private or don't post anything that could compromise you.

[Stormdash]

Anything potential clients could identify about your employees is appropriate for you to check on about your employees. Not really two sides to that. Your employees represent your business to the public; who the market thinks your employees are is what they think your business is.

[ifrah]

Forming up whatever kind of opinions and conclusions of the applicants based on information they either presented or is publicly available to anyone is fine in my books. Reposting personal information without consent, whatever kinds of it, public or private is surely not ok. What the actual fuck were they thinking of accomplishing in the first place?

[Lane]

My social media profiles are aliases thanks to being stalked in the past. I've always thought anyone who puts all their information out there is a fool. Everything you share has the potential to bite you in the ass. I don't agree with what the businesses do, but it's one of the risks you take.

It's not just a social media thing either, I think businesses in general are too picky though I suppose with more workers than jobs they can afford to be that way. There are people who look terrible on paper who are fantastic workers and there are people who look wonderful on paper who are awful workers.

[Lochton]

I know we have had conversations about protest and political comments, this this seems to be more about value judgements of an individual and what they do in their personal life.

Is this over step?

Sorry but your movement on social media is your footprints. It is your duty to take caution in how and what you share. Before this, you had companies google searching applicants to see if anything. Today in our age, companies are forced to keep a solid media image as well so why should their employees and future employees not?

[Low Hanging Fruit]

Lets be honest. If it is something you don't want your boss for future boss to see its probably not something you want to put onto the internet. A lot of people make a lot of stupid decisions when it comes to putting their face and business out on the internet for what I guess is "popular points".

But I had a lady in my office play a Facebook GAME, yes a GAME, that was going around where you post answers to things that are designed to make you look like a world class bullshitter. One of the answers she put in was she got a big raise. She literally got written up because on her facebook page it said she got a raise (and yes it said this was a joke, part of a online game/servery, etc). Now it wasn't because the company was looking but because an employee that she was "friends" with saw it and complained. Of course, eventually, it was over turned though a rigorous appeal process we have here at work but it still stands that it made this individual have a really shitty week or two. Seemed a little ridiculous to me.

So like most things is a double edged sword. A lot of real idiots out there are digging their own graves. But, at the same time some companies and individuals take it way to far.

[Shadowferal]

People love to decry big brother the NSA, the government listening in on their most private lives, yet they all willingly go online and hand over the most intimate details of those lives - to big data.
~Raymond Reddington