Hiring Real People - The Social Networking Revolution

   I just watched a short video "How to Use Social Media To Get a Job", it is one of many pieces of advice we hear about getting a job through Social Networking. What I get from these pieces is that you have to be fake. No one wants to know the real you, they want to see you all polished up Online and then they irrationally hope to see that same polish in real life.

Personally I get much more value out of an honest Facebook page than out of a fake one, or a LinkedIn profile. Despite all the pretense, hiring decisions are mostly subjective and discriminatory. We try our best to hide the fact, but it is reality. I openly accept this fact and if I see someone has been tagged at a strip club I would first think "No way would I want this guy teaching for our school," but then I would think again "and, what difference does it make, its none of my business what he does outside of class as long as he doesn't bring our students along with him."

The problem is privacy. Everyone does things they are not proud of and we do our best to hide, but with Social Networking it is getting increasingly difficult or even desirable to do so. Is it truly ideal to hire only those who are the best at hiding their true selves? Do we really want artificial life forms in the classroom, or do we want real people?

I think we are on the cusp of a Social Networking Revolution that will see the demise of this pretentiousness and the rise of real people who can share their indiscretions without fear of judgement and intolerance. Which is better, to know the shortcomings of your staff so that you know what to look out for and how to motivate or admonish them, or to have certain key details hidden from you only to be revealed by the local news media or in a lawsuit. Unfortunately most employers currently prefer the latter, but change is coming.