Boss uses Facebook to catch skiving worker

Facebook and other social sites have often been mentioned as potential hot beds of uncovered potential candidates. However, just as often it has been mentioned how candidates should be wary of what they put on these social sites as potential employers or even current employers may well use the site as a way to check up on employees.

Just as Kyle Doyle appears to be finding out: -


A call centre employee has been caught malingering after his boss checked his Facebook status.
Kyle Doyle, 21, is currently facing an internal investigation after he called in sick for work then updated his Facebook status bar to read: 'Kyle Doyle is not going to work ... I'm still trashed. SICKIE WOO!'.

Unfortunately for Doyle his boss was also a friend on Facebook and saw the incriminating status report.

He emailed Doyle and requested a doctor's note to prove that a sick day was required, without mentioning the Facebook entry but saying that his line manager was under the impression that the day off was not for medical reasons.

"My leave was due to medical reasons, so you cannot deny leave based on a line manager's discretion, with no proof, please process leave as requested," Doyle replied.

The manager then revealed that he had seen the Facebook message and said the day off would not be granted. "HAHAHA LMAO epic fail. No worries man," was Doyle’s response.

However, the emails between the two soon started to be circulated around corporate email systems and then worldwide. Doyle now faces an investigation by his employer AAPT, Australia's third largest telecoms operator.

"It's unfortunate because it was in the public domain,'' an AAPT spokeswoman told the Australian newspaper The Daily Telegraph.

"It involves one of our employees and we're doing an internal investigation, but I can't comment any further because of the nature of what it's about.

The case highlights the increasing use of social networking sites by management. Interviewers and head hunters are checking out user profiles of applicants, and managers are using them to keep updated on employees.

* - Article taken from www.vnunet.com

Social Networking aids Recruitment

There is no doubt that the social networking craze has opened up huge opportunities for companies to attract or find candidates for jobs. In particular it opens the door to a large number of passive candidates. However, you must be careful about how you go about your job search. As a young footballer found out: -

A footballer accidentally let slip his hopes for a transfer to a rival club - on his Facebook page.
Crystal Palace winger Ashley-Paul Robinson, 19, posted two messages on the website saying he was having a trial with Fulham.
But rather than restrict the news to his 198 pals, he mistakenly revealed it to 2.7 million people, reports The Sun.
Robinson, who has been at Palace five years, wrote on the website: "Ashley-Paul is goin fulham. Fingers crossed."
A Crystal Palace source said: "It's pretty embarrassing for the club. Perhaps he should be a bit more private about what he puts on the internet."

* - article from http://www.ananova.com

G & G Recruitment currently use MySpace but are looking at ways to use facebook.