March 23rd, 2009 | 
Author: It seems that the issue of managing your “online image” is becoming more and more important. I’ve had a few different posts that tackle this issue and what you can do about it, but I keep hearing stories about people making careless mistakes when it comes to their online identity.
The latest victim? A job candidate with an offer in hand from Cisco. It seems that they weren’t expressing their true feelings during the job interview. But what they were unwilling to tell their interviewer seemed acceptable to post on Twitter.
The Tweet:
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.
And the response, from Tim Levad, a Channel Partner at Cisco:
Who is the hiring manager. I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web.
The question is, what can be learned from this? Just remember, no matter what happens, you can’t assume that what you write on a social networking site is going to remain private. So watch what you say before it comes back to bite you.
Thanks to I’m Not Actually A Geek for bringing this story to our attention.
Epilogue: After becoming an internet sensation for the “Cisco Fatty Incident”, the job hunter in question has posted his response to the situation here.
Related posts:
- Things I Wouldn’t Post On Twitter
- More Reasons Not To Mix Work And Social Networking
- How To Tweet Your Way Out Of A Job
- Guest Post: How’s Your Job Search Going?
- Top 10 Cities For Jobs Requiring Twitter Experience
Posted in 
Tags: 6 Responses to “What You Post On Twitter Can Cost You The Job: The Cisco Fatty Incident”
Leave a Reply
[...] What You Post On Twitter Can Cost You The Job The Cisco Fatty [...]
[...] For the full Cisco Fatty story, click here. [...]
You talk about managing your identity online. What if somebody wants to frame you? What if someone wants to ruin your career prospects and misuses your name online to do so?
Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do to stop someone from opening various accounts in your name. However, it’s nevertheless important to monitor the information that is out there. Start by Googling yourself on a regular basis, and searching social networking sites for references.
If you do find some malicious content, contact the person directly and ask them to remove the material. If it is hateful in nature, you can always approach the service or host to ask that the information be removed. Finally, as a last resort, legal action is always an option (though a very expensive one).
I know that it isn’t a great situation to be in, but it’s better to be aware of malicious material than to be unaware.
Thanks for the comment!
[...] What You Post On Twitter Can Cost You The Job: The Cisco Fatty Incident | Gradversity.com: Breaking … via kwout [...]
[...] Yesterday’s post was timely because it seems my Twitter feed was blown up today with more people talking about keeping your online presence professional lest you lose a job offer. [...]