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Celebrity Faux Pas A Lesson in Using Social Media to Screen Candidates

Thank you, Miley Cyrus…for reminding us all once again how valuable social media can be for screening candidates – and more importantly, bringing up an important question: How much do your employees’ personal actions affect their professional standing? Or rather, how much should they?

Let me back up…This was not a good week to be a young celebrity publicist.  Right on the heels of the Michael Phelps bong controversy, photos of the “Hannah Montana” star surfaced this week that show her making what looks very much like a racially insensitive facial gesture.  Now she’s being forced to defend her actions amid public outcry from several activist groups, calling it “just a goofy face.” (Potato, po-tah-to, right?)  

Okay, so maybe Cyrus really was just making a “goofy face” and maybe Phelps didn’t actually inhale (insert obvious Bill Clinton joke here), but regardless, from a recruiting standpoint, incriminating photos like these would certainly make me think twice about hiring candidates like these.  Who wouldn’t?

But here’s the kicker:  What if you’ve already hired them?

Does this behavior warrant firing? Probation of some sort?  Your employees – even outside of work – are a representation of your company. Sure, what they do on their own time is their business, but only up to a point…when they let themselves be photographed and seen by anyone with access to Facebook, MySpace, etc., they’re putting not only themselves at risk for public scrutiny, but those they represent as well.

So far, Disney’s stayed mum in regards to any reaction to Cyrus’ photos, but really, by now, the media company should be used to defending controversial photos of its biggest star. (Meanwhile, Kellog’s has already decided to drop Phelps as a spokesman.)  What do you think from a management perspective?  

If one of your highest performers put themselves in a situation that shed a bad light on your company, at what point do you stop defending that employee’s and decide it’s time to disassociate from him or her completely?

Mary Lorenz

About Mary Lorenz

Mary is a copywriter for CareerBuilder, specializing in B2B marketing and corporate recruiting best practices and social media. In addition to creating copy for corporate advertising and marketing campaigns, she researches and writes about employee attraction, engagement and retention. Whenever possible, she makes references to pop culture. Sometimes, those references are even relevant. A New Orleans native, Mary now lives in Chicago, right down the street from the best sushi place in the city. It's awesome.
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Chad

Honestly they need to leave Miley Cyrus alone. I wonder about managers that are considering so valuable to spot these 'incriminating photos.' Miley Cyrus photo is innocent enough that one would think that the media should have the sense to treat the 15 year old as a 15 year old. There is a serious racism problem in the world, but honestly I don't any sensible person considers 'Hanna Montana' a racist. The idea that hiring authorities or colleges would pass on a candidate due to a misunderstood photo like that is terrifying for anyone that values civil rights in an open society.

Phelps' thing is a bit different, as no one has any business using controlled substances. However it could still be handled privately. If I found out someone was using dangerous drugs I would encourage someone they trust like a family member or coach to discuss it with them. Selling the photo to tabloids for profit is hurtful and greedy.

Anyways thank you for making the connection between celebrity employees and regular ones.

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Chad

Honestly they need to leave Miley Cyrus alone. I wonder about managers that are considering so valuable to spot these 'incriminating photos.' Miley Cyrus photo is innocent enough that one would think that the media should have the sense to treat the 15 year old as a 15 year old. There is a serious racism problem in the world, but honestly I don't any sensible person considers 'Hanna Montana' a racist. The idea that hiring authorities or colleges would pass on a candidate due to a misunderstood photo like that is terrifying for anyone that values civil rights in an open society.

Phelps' thing is a bit different, as no one has any business using controlled substances. However it could still be handled privately. If I found out someone was using dangerous drugs I would encourage someone they trust like a family member or coach to discuss it with them. Selling the photo to tabloids for profit is hurtful and greedy.

Anyways thank you for making the connection between celebrity employees and regular ones.

share
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  • offensive
  • disagree
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