30 Ways to Lose a Job on Twitter
10. Apr, 2009 
139 Comments
If you are searching for a job or applying to a college or even just hoping to keep the job you have you should be very careful what you say and post online. Four out of five recruiters regularly run web searches to screen job applicants. Potential employers and colleges may find your online profile and make judgment calls based on what they discover. With all of the innovative websites popping up it’s getting easier than ever to screen students and candidates online.
One recruiter I recently spoke to says that she went as far as to set up rss feeds by certain keywords to facilitate the candidate screening process. More and more employers are starting to monitor the online behavior of their employees. A good rule to live by is “Don’t share anything online that could come back to haunt you later on.” Mentioning how you get drunk every night or how many times you’ve lied on your resume won’t make you an attractive candidate for potential employers.
We ran a simple online twitter search and easily found hundreds of examples of things people have said that could either get them fired or prevent them from being offered a job in the future. It was hard, but we narrowed it down to the Top 30 Ways to Lose a Job on Twitter.
Tweet about failing your random drug test
Announce you are sleeping with your boss’s daughter
Tell everyone how much you hate your boss
Call your boss names
Let everyone know what a stupid moron your boss really is
Brag about fooling your boss into thinking you worked late the night before
Talk about sleeping with your Boss
Tell how you lied to get out of working
Ask your followers which disease you should fake to get off work early
Use Twitter even though your company blocked it on your computer
Keep posting to Twitter even after you’ve been caught by your boss 3 times in one day
Brag about how much free time you have to goof off at work
Give out tips on how to stalk your co-worker
Share how you lied to your boss to keep from inviting him to your party
Mention how you lied to your boss about having to take an exam instead of coming in to work
Tweet about Lying to your boss
Tell your friends how you got out of doing an assignment at work
Brag about possibly getting away with lying to your boss
Get your wife or girlfriend to tweet about lying to your boss
Admint to lying on your job application or resume
Announce you are quitting on Twitter
Tell everyone how much you hate your job and mention when you plan on quitting
Tell your followers when you plan on turning in your resignation
Threaten to sue your company and boss and mention what large boobs you have
Tweet about your new job interview and how your wondering if you should sue your current boss
Share that you got fired on your very first day at a new job
Talk about your co-workers bathroom habits
Write a message to your co-workers telling them how stupid they are and mention you hate them
Describe what you stole from work
Tell everyone how how your stupid boss screwed up the payroll
It may not seem important to you now, but what you post and share online could come back to haunt you someday when you least expect it. Everything on the internet can be archived, which means it is also searchable. Your online profiles might be just for friends now, but later on, your online content might keep you from getting that scholarship, the job of your dreams or even prevent you from running for public office.
Think before you post – especially before you post to social networking sites or blogs. If you just can’t help yourself and you must tell someone at least use @secrettweet.
If you have other examples of outrageous postings online you would like to share, please add them in comments.
I agree, Ren. Some will assume that she’s looking for easy money. I would assume she doesn’t take any shit and stands up for herself.
Some of these examples are just common sense! The sad thing is, I’ve seen some of them before. Also, don’t forget to watch your Facebook and MySpace accounts. Even if you are friends with someone who posts something dumb on your wall, it reflects badly on you.
i just want to say some thing “great job” on the blog.
Update your Twitter randomly according to your intrest Or, from Rss Feed Or, from your own tweet message list Or, Any combination of the above three http://feedmytwitter.com
Exactly, I was thinking the same thing – unfortunately, that’s the very nature of sexual harassment – that if you speak up about it, you become the problem. While Kate’s point is valid – it is very sad if a perspective boss is thinking in those terms. In that event, I wouldn’t want to work there!
Unfortunately, a lot of those seemingly innocuous statements could end up costing someone a job. Like if I am talking about autism treatment, that might mean that a potential employer who thinks autism is a parent’s fault wouldn’t want to hire me. Or if I am a Raiders fan but the employer is a 49er fan. (And this could be a totally subconscious bias.)
While I agree to be careful about what is said online – the potential employers also have to recognize that a person’s work persona is frequently quite different than the “play” persona. (or at least the off-work persona.) Knowing “everything” about someone breeds a sense of familiarity that isn’t really there. Assumptions can be made that are damaging – and yet completely off-base. How I chose to raise my children isn’t going to impact my job – but if an employer disagrees with me on breast versus bottle, is he/she going to trust my judgment with something completely not related?
I’d encourage HR folks to only nix an interview in the event that truly damaging information is found – and yet it is hard to avoid making assumptions about the “small” stuff when looking for the “big” stuff. Tough call!
Gary… Totally agree with all your points.
Ren… My thought exactly. The woman posting that she was sexually harassed at work should not be in any jeopardy of being fired, rather the person sexually harassing her should be fired. If her boss read her post, he/she should call her in to find out not only who had made the remark but to find out what their company has done to make employees not feel safe to report such behavior. This employee is victimized twice here… first, the sexual harassment… second, feeling she would be fired if she were to report it to the company.
Your post 30 Ways to Lose a Job on Twitter | ResumeBear Blog was very interesting when I found it over google on Monday by my search for sein amateur. I have your blog now in my bookmarks and I visit your blog again, soon. Take care. Parejaspareja.es
What I find appalling is the complete lack of a) morality; and b) common sense displayed by these people, not to mention the execrable spelling and grammar. Didn’t anyone ever tell these people that it’s wrong to lie, cheat, and steal? Jobs are hard to come by these days, and people should be grateful to have one, not spending all their time plotting how to rip off their employer!
” I have a crush on a woman at work so i stole her watch so she’d have to get it from me. smelling it, it smells so good -ds
WTF that is really creepy!
I find it appalling that the writer of this article thinks it is the victim’s fault for being sexually harassed! And that being harassed by others somehow makes them an untrustworthy, worse employee!
For shame!
Let’s not forget about the women who had an offer from Cisco rescinded because she tweeted to wonder if the big fat paycheck was worth the long commute along with a job she was gonna hate. Someone at the company responded, asking who her hiring manager was, and ensuring she wouldn’t need to make a decision. Sure enough, the next day, her offer was rescinded.
There are the facebook stories, too, of course.
What happened to common sense these days?!?!?!?!? That’s all it is common sense! Way to bring common sense to everyone’s attention!!
Cool
It’s obvious these people deserve to be fired for their inappropriate tweets (and absence of common sense). But my question is, based on most of these people’s baffling lack of basic spelling and grammar skills, how did they get hired in the first place?
Really. “Hoam” instead of “Home”? Wow.
Maybe Twitter could make money by offering a spell check.
Tweet about your new job interview and how your wondering if you should sue your current boss.
Another way to lose your job would be bad grammar.
Thank you for a very instructive article – more often I will go
lol. I guess some people feel that they’re suddenly safe when expressing themselves online. Kind of like how people act when they’re in their cars, doing things like picking their nose while waiting for a light to turn green.