Jonah's MI703 Blog: Working the network

Jonah's MI703 Blog: Working the network

I saw Geoff and Jonah’s responses to the “Working the Network” article and wanted to chime in.

There’s a very fine balance that both corporations and individuals must find when utilizing the newest forms of media and technology. We’re in a unique point in history where technology is progressing so rapidly that we’re not able to receive a new tool or application and fully understand its potential, scope, benefits, and perhaps most importantly, its drawbacks, before the next best technology hits the shelves or the web and we’re back off to the races again. As we chase down the next greatest gadgets, we rarely look back and objectively consider what the ramifications of these technologies are until we’re dealing with the storm they created. Even less objective contemplation occurs while we are building the technologies of tomorrow. We don’t stop to consider the ramifications that they will have, put in proper controls and protections, and ask “Should we be doing this?” We’re only asking “Can we do this?” The answer to the second question is more often than not “Yes”; however, the answer to the first question is generally not known until many years later.

This is the situation we find ourselves in with these new social networking tools. We’re still learning how to use them - and how they’re being used against us. What we’re learning is that there are consequences for the things we do and say now that were never an issue in the past when our work and personal lives were more distinct. As technology increasingly shapes our lives, and as we become a “virtual world”, it is more difficult to separate the two spheres.

I have never been a fan of “Big Brother” looking over our shoulders, and as such, I was reluctant to join the social network websites (although now I’m a fan of Facebook). However, I do not have an inherent opposition to companies researching their employee candidates. I work in the asset management industry, and job interviews for me include fingerprints and background checks. Shareholders for large corporations want to have assurances that the employees are competent, ethical, and are not a risk to the corporation.

Time and time again in the news we hear stories of criminals working as security guards in airports and sex offenders driving school busses. The same question is always asked, “How did the person get the job?” Society today is demanding more and more background checks on people in every industry. In this regard, a company researching potential employees seems to be taking a prudent course of action. It can be used as an inexpensive alternative and/or addition to the formal and expensive background checks to help paint a more accurate portrait of the candidate, and more accurately assess their risk.

But can corporations take this too far? Absolutely. These checks should merely be supplemental to resumes, personal interactions, and interviews. Companies need to understand that not all the content on a person’s page is necessarily under their control and that one questionable photograph does not a miscreant make. Individuals must also realize that the lines between work and play are blurring and ought think twice about posting that bikini picture from their honeymoon.