Remind me again why you posted those nude photos online?

In the New York Times, July 20th, 2011, “Social Media History Becomes a New Hurdle,” the writer profiles the company, Social Intelligence.  Essentially, their raison d’etre is to do online background checks on candidates beyond credit and criminal “misdeeds” to include: social media. I found quite interesting that “… much of the negative information about job candidates comes from deep Web searches that find comments on blogs and posts on smaller social sites, like Tumblr, the blogging site, as well as Yahoo user groups, e-commerce sites, bulletin boards and even Craigslist.”

The article goes on further to say: “and it is photos and videos that seem to get most people in trouble. “Sexually explicit photos and videos are beyond comprehension,” Mr. Drucker said. “We also see flagrant displays of weapons. And we see a lot of illegal activity. Lots and lots of pictures of drug use.”

Looking at these stats: “…75 percent of recruiters are required by their companies to do online research of candidates. And 70 percent of recruiters in the United States report that they have rejected candidates because of information online…” I would imagine this would encourage serious job candidates to keep their private lives offline.

So the next time you are looking to have a good time or your idea a good time, make sure everyone puts digital cameras/video players/iphones in a safe, undisclosed location.  Don’t drink and post, it could be a career killer.