Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by olympus 3231 days ago
I think it already is. I recently deleted my FB and Twitter accounts. I had to keep my LinkedIn account because a recruiter told me that if I didn't have at least some online persona then I was weird and wouldn't be hired. I guess I'm not rich enough to delete all my social media.
6 comments

Fascinating that a recruiter actually told you that. I wonder if it's actually true or if the recruiter was saying that because...they are a recruiter and having people on LinkedIn makes their life easier.
Do not underestimate the lengths recruiters (or anyone in charge of hiring for that matter) will go to in order to paint a picture of who they think you are solely based on the social media content they are able to find (or not find) on you.

I have a common name, and have been passed over for job opportunities because someone else in my city with my same name at one point had a facebook account full of obscenities.

To clarify, the recruiter is more specifically a transition specialist for military members and usually finds jobs in project management. Finding a first job out of the military is a little different because you're old but don't have the same work history as your competition. Employers are less likely to take a risk on your non-standard background if you seem like a "wierdo."
It could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If all recruiters think the same way...
That's BS, I haven't had a LinkedIn account in ages and have not had any trouble when on the job market. I have a Twitter account, but it's dormant - I should probably just delete it, actually...
Tell them what I tell them ("You have to climb the mountain to reach the guru. Otherwise you won't appreciate his advice!")

That usually gets the recruiters out of my hair.

Look at it the other way. Do you want to join a company that judges its employees based on online presence? And denies entry to employees who lack such presence?
Recruiters say stupid shit all the time. They are like attorneys nothing they say matters :)
That recruiter is full of shit. A GitHub presence should be enough to get hired for any decent job.
For software specific jobs, that's probably true. But your GitHub would count as your online persona. But for any job outside of software, the hiring manager doesn't know what GitHub is.