Marketing Essentials 2012Chapter 37:
Identifying Career OpportunitieseMarketing FeatureLawful Data Mining of Blogs for Employment Screening
Employers can gain a wealth of knowledge about prospective employees by accessing information contained in their blogs on social networks, such as Facebook, MySpace, and Window's Live Spaces. Why? Because anyone can read those blogs if they are part of the social networks and have permission. Most social network sites allow users to post personal information, interests, hobbies, relationship status, and political beliefs. Courts have ruled that the use of Internet searches for employment decisions is okay as long as employers comply with the terms of use outlined in the agreement. The reasoning behind the legal decisions is that information posted on the Internet becomes public and privacy is lost. Employers may review employee blogs as well. To do so without any complications, employers may seek consent from employees. Also, since race, age, gender, and religion are topics that may not be considered during the employment process, employers should be sure to state that those topics may not be used in data mining of employees or job applicants. Innovate and Create
Discuss why employers should conduct lawful mining of blogs on social networks when researching potential employees, as well as current employees. What good information may they learn and what not so good information may help them decide between two candidates for employment or promotions? Since students now know that employers may conduct Internet searches when considering them for employment, what might they consider to avoid being rejected before getting an interview?  | 
