Are companies watching what you say on social media?
Recently a question was asked on a social media platform from a driver trying to get hired on by carriers and was wondering if he would be monitored on social media. Apparently he didn’t watch what he said much of the time and was active on many platforms such as Facebook. He found many of the carriers he talked with frowned on him being such an open book on social media and he wondered if they actually watch their employees? The answer to his question is “Yes” they do watch your account but maybe not in the way that you think. Social media is both good and bad depending on how you use it.
I don’t think I know anyone without a social media foot print except one older gentleman in my building. Anyone under the age of 80 has been forced onto social media either for business, to keep up with the Grand kids, or to book a vacation. There is almost no getting around it now and even though many of the platforms seem to be focused on personal communication and connecting with friends they are almost all designed to appeal to business owners and companies. Any platform that grows an audience will attract marketers and advertisers in order to promote their products.
Many young people use social media as a way to talk to each other on a regular basis and that has opened up another market for businesses in the way that they can now get a better feeling for the type of people employed on a team and whether that person fits in the company culture. That can also be good and bad. We have all heard the horror stories of someone that uploaded that party video on the internet when they were a teenager and had it come back to haunt them later in life when being promoted in their career. There are a few politicians that come to mind and we all know about the latest election issues with Facebook.
How do companies monitor your accounts?
There are a few ways carriers or employers can monitor your accounts. The first one is the basic search someone may do when beginning a job reference check. They put your name in the big Google machine and see what shows up. They will most likely flip through a few social media accounts to see if you fit the company profile.
The second way they monitor accounts is through special programs that watch for their name and how it is used on the internet. This is very similar to a hashtag in a program like Twitter where everyone using that hashtag will view the content into one place. The account holder gets notification whenever their name is used and can review the post.
The third way is sharing and direct monitoring and this is possibly the most popular way of finding a post. Someone posts on social media and it gets shared by those connected to you. You never know who is connected to who and all it takes is one share to your network and the post is alive forever. Even if you delete the post at a later date the content may have already been shared, viewed, and possibly saved by someone.
It could go like this; you share a post, I share the post but also download a copy or save it somehow. You delete it later, but I still have a copy. If I’m your employer then this may be the evidence I need to let you go. Hopefully that won’t happen but it proves you need to be careful what you put on social media even if no one is commenting, they may still be watching. A good general rule is that if you wouldn’t say something in public then you may want to keep it off social media.
About the Author
Bruce Outridge has been in the transportation industry for over 30 years. He is an author of the books Driven to Drive and Running By The Mile, and host of The Lead Pedal Podcast for Truck Drivers. TTSAO also known as the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario has certified member schools in the truck training vocation ensuring quality entry level drivers enter the transportation industry. To learn more about the TTSAO or to find a certified school in your area visit