Job Seekers Changing Names to Hide Facebook Profiles

by Terrence O'Brien — Apr 6th 2010 at 6:30AM

Employees and job seekers are learning, slowly it seems, that anything they post online is fair game for employers. We don't need the recent survey commissioned by Microsoft to tell us that managers and recruiters are turning to social networks to review applicants, but a little reinforcement of the point doesn't hurt. Rather than exercising some well-advised self-censorship, though, new grads and other job hunters are turning to rudimentary tricks in order to hide their online identities.

A recent article from CNN finds many applicants are changing their names on Facebook as a way to hide their profiles from the eyes of potential employers. Some tricks involve using a nickname, misspelling a name, or just swapping last and middle monikers. Unfortunately, simply changing your name may not hide your Facebook antics from a hiring manager. If you use the same e-mail address for professional and personal contacts, for instance, your profile can be found with a simple search.

All Facebook makes the interesting point that attempting to hide your Facebook account, even if there is nothing incriminating on it, could end up hurting applicants. If an employer finds someone attempting to hide their profile, it could negatively impact that individual's chances of landing the job.

We urge all people who are applying for jobs to familiarize themselves with Facebook's privacy controls, purge their profiles of anything offensive or incriminating, and exercise a little restraint. Remember what Mark Zuckerberg said: privacy is a thing of the past. [From: CNN, via: All Facebook]

Original Article