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I find it absolutely disgusting that employers have taken to checking someone's personal Myspace or Facebook page when determining whether or not to hire the person. If that isn't an invasion of privacy I don't know what is.

I have both a Myspace page and a Facebook page. I do not have them set to private and for the following reasons I highly doubt I ever will:

1.I am an innocent person. I have nothing to hide from the law or anyone else.

2.I don't see the point of having a page on a social networking site than can only be seen by people who already know me. How is that networking?

3.I am proud of who I am and the things I have accomplished in life. If that isn't good enough for someone, whether it be a potential employer, a friend or a potential date, then I really don't want them in my life in any capacity whatsoever.

Part of landing a job is having an impressive resume, as well as conducting a successful interview. Since when do the things I post on my Myspace and Facebook pages have anything to do with what kind of employee I would be? Absolutely none, as far as I can tell. It absolutely should not be part of the hiring practice. Employers didn't have the option of doing this before Facebook and Myspace came along, and they certainly shouldn't have the option now. What's next? They get to come into our homes and observe how we live before they make a decision regarding whom to hire?

I cannot see how employers can justify what basically amounts to spying on someone before they decide whether or not to hire the person. No one's personal life (providing they're not doing anything illegal) should have an effect on whether or not they get a job. And to be honest, if someone is doing something illegal and they actually stupid enough to post about it on Myspace and/or Facebook they don't deserve the job anyway. But for all I know, I could be up for a job, the employer could check my Myspace page, decide that my profile song is offensive, and not hire me based on that. Or find a picture or comment on my page that offends them and use that as an excuse not to hire me. How is that a rational reason for choosing not to hire someone? Answer: it isn't. When did it become acceptable for employers to pry into the personal life of potential employees?

I myself would not want to work for an employer who would invade my privacy in that way. I don't care if the job in question is the job of my dreams, I would not work for a company/employer that bases their hiring decision on what is on my Myspace or Facebook page. Wouldn't it be wonderful to go back to the days when someone would be hired for a job based only on his or her merit?

Learn more about this author, Julie Somerville.
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