Sunday, October 08, 2006

Social Networking Sites Venture into the Professional Arena

I read an article today called “Getting the Inside Scoop On a Future Boss” (WSJ, July 2006) for another class. It talked about one of the latest expansions of the social networking phenomenon – features that make it easier for job seekers to get in touch with current employees of prospective firms.

Facebook has ventured into the professional arena, as have other sites like LinkedIn and MySpace. LinkedIn lets you get in touch with contacts that work for employers who have posted job openings. It’s great for job seekers to have access to as much inside information as possible before deciding to accept a certain job, but the risk is great for those supplying the information. There’s no telling who will view your profile to see what you have posted. Is it worth it to a current employee to share his complaints about a boss to help out a prospective hire to whom he owes nothing when the boss himself or other firm insiders might also see or hear about the comments?

It will be interesting to see how this takes hold. Airing your gripes online about your boss sounds awfully risky, but maybe it will lead to greater acceptance of honest communication and greater accountability for bosses’ behavior.

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