Hello, these forums have been very helpful and much appreciated. Question - do the SAs and MOCs google candidates, as part of there background checks, to look at what's on their FB pages and any twitter acct? My DS started a twitter acct about 2 months ago that i wasn't aware of and his publically viewable tweets don't portray him in a good light; mostly about sports and daily stuff but with some profanities and general stupidity. I don't like it but didn't know how much it matters? He's a great candidate but you wouldn't know that from twitter. I advised him to dump the acct.
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- Thread starter Phil11
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This is a good question. I don't know if USNA does these searches but I do know that it is becoming more common among schools and certainly employers. Candidates have to realize that anything they post on the web is potentially public information and should be considered such. Even if they are only communicating with friends and family there is nothing stopping someone from sending or posting that communication elsewhere. Once it is out there on the web it is very difficult to get rid of. Do a Google search on someone and some of the first things to show up are Facebook and twitter postings. One of the first things my DS did when applying to colleges was to "go dark" and essentially shut down his Facebook page.
All I am going to say is check out the USNA Facebook page for some of the things the Mids are doing. There is a difference between <face palm> "I can't believe they did that" stupid and "Mrs Johnson you need to pick your DS from Juvie" stupid. As an official at local HS sporting events I hear and see things from kids I know are top students that I just shake my head at but in the end they are good kids. So, if your DS used profanity and was generally a stupid teenager I wouldn't worry. If its illegal activities and being in compromising situations that type of behavior will eventually show under the stress of training anyway even if a candidate "goes dark" to hide it. Like I tell my DS and DD, if you have to hide it then why would you do it in the first place.
I don't know about USNA, but I can tell you what the CIA said in a career opportunity presentation to high school students 2 months ago. The presenter talked about what the CIA looks for in a candidate. Character, integrity, etc. Similar qualities to what the Navy and most businesses desire. She specifically spoke about social media. While she did not say it was taboo, she did warn the students that stuff stays on servers for many, many years and can come back to haunt. She did not say they go and look for it, but it was implied. Bottom-line, your past has a way of catching up with you. Right or wrong, it is a reality of today's environment.
All I am going to say is check out the USNA Facebook page for some of the things the Mids are doing. There is a difference between <face palm> "I can't believe they did that" stupid and "Mrs Johnson you need to pick your DS from Juvie" stupid. As an official at local HS sporting events I hear and see things from kids I know are top students that I just shake my head at but in the end they are good kids. So, if your DS used profanity and was generally a stupid teenager I wouldn't worry. If its illegal activities and being in compromising situations that type of behavior will eventually show under the stress of training anyway even if a candidate "goes dark" to hide it. Like I tell my DS and DD, if you have to hide it then why would you do it in the first place.
Agree. He didn't reduce his Facebook exposure to hide anything he was doing but rather to prevent any of his friends from posting stupid stuff on his wall, etc. Even the silly stupid stuff taken out of context can potentially sink a candidate. Some MOC board may be considering several candidates and when push comes to shove the person with a bunch of disparaging remarks and comments showing up in the top of the Google search may not make the cut and they may not be given the opportunity to explain it away.