First Contact HR wants to give our fans and Mailing List subscibers the chance to win a gift!
Click “Like” at facebook.com/firstcontacthr and then join our mailing list for a chance to win a Prize Pack from First Contact HR!
Givaway starts Friday, October 28, 2011 12:00AM EST and ends Friday, November 18, 2011 11:59PM EST
The Prize pack includes office supplies and the following First Contact HR branded merchandise:
Polo Shirt – one (1)
Water Bottle – one (1)
Various desk supplies (may include any mixture of the following: letter opener, notebook, pen, planner, folder, post it notes booklet, leather-bound pad and pen, etc.)
With the popularity of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace at an all-time high with regards to usage at home and in the workplace, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is cracking down on companies’ social media usage in the workplace.
The problem? Companies are creating social media policies that they expect employees to adhere to; however these policies may violate the National Labor Relations Act. Such violations can lead to legal and monetary risks if not corrected. In many cases, both unionized and nonunionized employees have been terminated for posting unfavorable material to do with their jobs on social networking sites.
One of the main determinants for whether or not a company follows the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when letting an employee go based on social network posts is if the social media post by the employee was a concerted complaint or just a personal gripe. Read about what happened when Wal-Mart, JT’s Porch Saloon, and Martin House fired employees who posted “negative” comments via their social media pages.
Another violation of the NLRB is conducting an internet or social media search on an applicant without potential new hire’s consent. Companies that take matters into their own hands by conducting such searches must have signed written consent to do so. What’s more is some companies will simple “Google” the applicant or search through the individual’s social media profiles. This practice can lead to an applicant who is unfairly judged based on information such as religion or sexual orientation.
To learn more about internet searches, read our past blog post “Internet Background Searches – Should YOU Use Them?”
Simple online searches and social network profile browsing has hindered people’s reputations and even compromised employment opportunities in some cases. Whether you like it or not, articles, pictures, sound bites, videos and blog posts with (or relating to) your name are likely to make an appearance in the search engine rankings.
You may be asking yourself, “so what if an old picture of me surfaces in a Google search?” Well, a recent negative tweet and a couple vacation photos later, you may find that your online reputation appears less than stellar.
Employers have trusted background screening companies like First Contact HR for years, but some are taking a more serious approach to protecting themselves and their clients. Now, more than ever, employers not only want the top talent to fill their open positions, but they want those people to be squeaky clean in personal demeanor and in their online presence. While criminal record, motor vehicle history, and drug testing are all standard practices in background screening, some employers will manually search the social media landscape to determine your reputation online.
A simple Google or Yahoo! search can tell you if you are in the clear, but there’s no telling what will eventually surface when anyone can post something on internet sites like Facebook and Twitter without your knowledge. There are personal steps that you can take to prevent negative connotations associated with your “Googled” name such as kindly asking friends to remove embarrassing photos of you and even signing up on social media sites to prevent others from using your name.
If you think you might already be treading in the murky online waters with your reputation, there are more serious measures you can take to try and eliminate compromising online material. Internet profile aggregation companies, help job seekers minimize the amount of false or misrepresented information about themselves online. Other companies offering services to help you understand/clean up you online reputation are ClaimID, Profilactic, Spokeo and Ziki.
Check out the video below from abc.com detailing the importance of maintaining your online reputation.
First Contact HR wants to give our fans and Mailing List subscibers the chance to win a gift!
With the popularity of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace at an all-time high with regards to usage at home and in the workplace, the 