The World Wide Web has been in widespread use now for at least 10 years, and you would think we would have learned how to use it as a society by now. However, I guess there will always be people who post their phone numbers on Facebook for the world to see and complain about their employers, future employers, and co-workers on blogs and on Twitter:
As social media become the latest branding strategy, networking technique, job seeking tool and recruitment vehicle, they’re also becoming the latest way for people to find out job offers have been rescinded, to get reprimanded at work and even to get fired. It’s happened so many times — publicized and not — that one would think we could learn from others’ mistakes. (But, if that were the case, I wouldn’t have anything to write about, now would I?)
A recent tweet by a potential Cisco employee, for example, turned ugly when she decided to tout a recent job offer: “Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.”
Unfortunately for “theconnor” (the handle for the would-be employee), Tim Levad, a “channel partner advocate” for Cisco, saw the tweet and responded with this: “Who is the hiring manger, I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the Web.”
How about this for disciplinary action? There’s nothing like making an embarrassing example out of somebody to snap everybody back into line:
An MSNBC article tells of Kevin Colvin, the legendary young intern who e-mailed his boss, claiming a “family emergency” would keep him out of the office around Halloween. His co-workers (and Facebook friends), however, saw a photo of Colvin dressed as a fairy at a Halloween party time-stamped on the same day of the “emergency.” Colvin’s boss responded to him with an e-mail CC’d to the entire company, firing him and including the incriminating fairy picture.
By the way, Indiana is an employment at-will state, which means you can be terminated from your job because a sudden breeze blew into your boss’ office and upset him/her. But, more likely than not, complaining about your organization in public is considered bad manners and even worse PR.
Kimberly Swann, a former employee at Ivell Marketing & Logistics of Clacton, U.K., thought her job was boring — and she said so on her Facebook page, according to an article in The Daily Telegraph. Swann was called into her manager’s office and handed a letter that cited her Facebook comments as the reason for dismissal: “Following your comments made on Facebook about your job and the company we feel it is better that, as you are not happy and do not enjoy your work we end your employment with Ivell Marketing & Logistics with immediate effect.”
In March 2009, the same MSNBC article cites Dan Leone, a Philadelphia Eagles stadium employee, who was fired after slamming the football organization for trading a player in this status update: “Dan is [expletive] devastated about Dawkins signing with Denver. . .Dam Eagles R Retarted!![sic]” Two days later, the head of event operations said they needed to talk about his Facebook status; instead, he got the boot.
So, what do we learn?
- Don’t announce interviews, raises or new jobs
- Don’t badmouth your current or previous employer
- Don’t mention your job search if you’re still employed
For the record, I love all my jobs and my employers 
Have a great weekend!
