Statuses make or break employment

While it may be the coolest thing now to spam your friends’ Facebook walls about all the fun times that are nothing but a blur, or decorate people’s news feeds with photos painted with you in your clubbing clothes and a solo cup in hand, think about if it will be as cool just a few years from now.

“If you’re posting something you wouldn’t want to be on the front page of the paper, don’t put it on the Internet,” North Country’s One Workforce Advisor Kathleen Duffy said.

The link to all things shared on the Internet, are easily accessible; therefore, they can be spread around just as easy too, Duffy said.

An increasing problem on the social networking sites that Duffy said she has noted is users ranting about their work problems. They forget they’re friends with co-workers who see their comments, and then the word gets around, she said.

Severe consequences can occur from this, and she said those who participate in this should be prepared for trouble.

“Keep in mind, if you put anything on the Internet, it can always get back to the wrong person,” she said.

Privacy settings aren’t reliable either because approved friends can still see posts, she said.

Plattsburgh State student Shamus Foster said he witnessed an employee getting fired due to a status he had posted following his shift about how much he hated his job.

He said people are careless on the social networking sites, whether it’s talking smack about their jobs or posting pictures of partying the night before.

“A picture speaks a thousand words, but a status is only 160 characters,” he said.

He said some of the worst things he has seen are how certain girls talk to each other.

“Girls are vicious,” he said about the Internet fights amongst one another. “Now the whole world knows… I don’t need to know that either. It’s too much information.”

The social networking content will continue to be a large issue, PSUC student Matt Howard said. The most abuse he said he sees is students drinking in their pictures, or partaking in at-risk behavior due to the consumption of alcohol.

He said numerous professors of his have warned their classes on this matter.

“’There isn’t such a thing as an unsend button,’” they said to him.

Not only is this a recent conflict in the job market, he said, but it’s going to also be reoccurring.

Attempts to contact local banks, state and private businesses, a local chain restaurant and a local school district for information regarding their policies on using social networking history in the hiring process were unsuccessful.

PSUC student Jessica Silon said she sees a lot of negative content on social networking sites, whether it’s the partying and reckless comments, or the racial slurs or strong, disagreeable opinions.

“There’s going to be so much information about themselves out there (Internet)  that they wouldn’t want out there if it weren’t for these sites,” she said.

She said these websites are used for popularity, and it may only jeopardize their career opportunities in the long run.

“We all use it (social networking sites) so much,” she said. “It just seems normal.”

Email Kaitlyn Affuso at fuse@

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