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Thursday, May 25, 2006

How dumb do you have to be to do this?
Posted by Jill | 7:17 AM
Mr. Brilliant and I are both at the age when employers start the process of putting you out to pasture. If you're working, you're no longer on a track. If you aren't working, it's ever-more-difficult to get employers to not dismiss you immediately as "too old."

Before I started at my current job over five years ago, I endured a completely humiliating interview process at a media outlet, the name of which I won't repeat here. The Human Resources guy conducted a very conversational interview which included a lot of cultural references that in retrospect I realized were designed to get a handle on my age. When I was passed on to the Web development group, which consisted of two guys in their 20's, I knew immediately that my experience didn't matter, my skills didn't matter, my talents didn't matter. I was an "old broad", and therefore "didn't fit in." The interview was over before it began.

When I hear about some of the advice given to twentysomething job seekers: Turn off your cell phone...No eating during the interview...Wear a suit...No earrings in your nose -- and then see how workers on the shady side of 50 are treated, it's no wonder that American companies think they can't find quality American workers.

How dumb do you have to be to start a blog about your workplace -- AND NAME THE ACTUAL WORKPLACE????

Apparently it's quite prevalent:

ON the first day of his internship last year, Andrew McDonald created a Web site for himself. It never occurred to him that his bosses might not like his naming it after the company and writing in it about what went on in their office.

For Mr. McDonald, the Web log he created, "I'm a Comedy Central Intern," was merely a way to keep his friends apprised of his activities and to practice his humor writing. For Comedy Central, it was a corporate no-no — especially after it was mentioned on Gawker.com, the gossip Web site, attracting thousands of new readers.

"Not even a newborn puppy on a pink cloud is as cute as a secret work blog!" chirped Gawker, giddily providing the link to its audience.

But Comedy Central disagreed, asking him to change the name (He did, to "I'm an Intern in New York") and to stop revealing how its brand of comedic sausage is stuffed.

"They said they figured something like this would happen eventually because blogs had become so popular," said Mr. McDonald, now 23, who kept his internship. "It caught them off guard. They didn't really like that."

This is the time of year when thousands of interns and new employees pour into the workplace from college campuses, many bringing with them an innocence and nonchalance about workplace rules and corporate culture.

Most experienced employees know: Thou Shalt Not Blab About the Company's Internal Business. But the line between what is public and what is private is increasingly fuzzy for young people comfortable with broadcasting nearly every aspect of their lives on the Web, posting pictures of their grandmother at graduation next to one of them eating whipped cream off a woman's belly. For them, shifting from a like-minded audience of peers to an intergenerational, hierarchical workplace can be jarring.

Companies are beginning to recognize the schism and, prodded by their legal and public relations departments, are starting to adopt policies that address it.


I suppose everyone who does this thinks he/she is the next Wonkette or Jessica Cutler and they have visions of fat book contracts dancing in their heads. For a lucky few, the book contracts and Comedy Central writing gigs may in fact materialize. But for the vast majority, workblogging qualifies you for nothing but the unemployment line.

I occasionally make references to the kind of work I do and the nature of my workplace, but I would never DREAM of airing workplace laundry on this blog. And I don't understand the mindset that would think this is cute. Maybe it's just a generational thing, but this strikes me as mind-bogglingly dumb. People often don't realize that what you post on the Web is forever, and that future employers may very well see what you've written. I often worry about that myself. I hope never have to go job-hunting again, but if I do, I may very well have locked myself out of any conservative-supporting company because of this blog. But that's a far cry from airing the laundry of your current employer in a public forum -- by name.

Something is seriously wrong with the way collegians are being prepared for the workplace, if they can't see that this is just not a very high-percentage move.
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