Three real life stories:

The PR director who was seen digging through a dumpster (drunk of course) behind the theater where a big award had just been given to the company.

The guy who had to be rescued from a downtown New Orleans bar by co-workers when he passed out in the phone booth and got locked in, complete with a jester’s hat on.

The guy who kept posting on Twitter how much he hated his job, the company, etc. and no longer works there. The media policy restricts those kind of posts so he was fired.

You see, if you make bad social decisions in private, you might also make them when the stakes are higher and the atmosphere is more relaxed. Ask anyone who has attended the yearly company party what I mean.

Your personal life may be none of my business as a hiring manager, but if it is so personal then don’t broadcast it to the world.

My 2 cents anyway.

Seth Godin had an interesting post entitled “Why bother having a resume?” It sort of speaks to the “looking for the positive” element that Jason brought up in his last comment. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/03/why-bother-havi.html

I read that post just before applying for the position here at Doe Anderson, and I really took it to heart (ask Jason–I never sent him a resume, just my LinkedIn profile. He was already familiar with my blog.)

Your reputation is going to precede you, to a certain extent. You’re the one with the power to shape that reputation. Authentic and passionate is good. Irresponsible and immature is bad. And the industry, position and organization in question is going to determine what weight is placed on either.

At the very least, make sure all the photos of you doing keg stands are on Friendster. Nobody ever checks Friendster.

“So… perhaps one of the hard questions for employers is this: When are you going to stop worrying about the last time your prospective employee got drunk / passed a joint, and start worrying about finding the best possible person for the gig?”

Is somebody actually saying they will pass on a “good candidate” because of a beer, some wild pics, and a few “bad” words?

This reminds me of devils advocate, “look, but don’t touch, touch, but don’t taste, taste, but don’t swallow” My point is that this is total hypocrisy!! Let’s pull back the curtain on every hiring manager on this site or in the whole advertising industry, what will we find hmmmmmm. Would a few folks get fired for smoking a joint, being scantily dressed, drinking shots of tequila etc. etc.

Let me be totally inappropriate when I say *fuck this!*

my name is Aronado and I drink beer, say bad words, and act a little crazy sometimes. So what!!

Crystal emailed me this morning after reading through the discussion here. She made a point in the email that I’d like to make sure we touch on, too.

Not all potential employers are looking for the negative. It’s not just about stodgy companies looking for every way possible to disqualify potential candidates. Sometimes is the positive. Crystal pointed out that she likes to see if people have a professional blog? Are they experts in their field or are they trying to be? Have they presented at conferences, written white papers? If so, what were the topics and where to they stand?

Bottom line — What is this person’s personal brand? Are they undefined and unrefined or are they aware of their online surroundings and contributing to their professions their and elsewhere?

She did say if the other personal stuff pops up, it makes her question one’s maturity, judgment and professionalism. For an agency like Doe, if we can see your Facebook pictures, our clients can, too. So like Matt said above, don’t be stupid.

No, what you do at night or on the weekends shouldn’t effect (and in most cases probably doesn’t effect) what you do from 9-5, but sharing it certainly can. It may not be right, but it is what it is.

Still, if you’re putting out the right professional signals — a blog about your industry, participation in or at conferences, commenting on relevant topics in various groups, message boards and what-not — employers will see that, too.