Googling Your Caregiver

A few years ago I interviewed a job candidate at another company and was surprised when they asked about my two kids. They'd obviously “googled” me, since this was the first time we'd met. Recently, at a job interview here at Care.com, the candidate asked me how I liked my undergrad college, and this time I wasn't surprised. In fact, I was impressed they'd taken the time to prepare. It's common now to research each other online. It’s so easy! A search engine, a couple keystrokes, a few mouse clicks, and there you go—you've found someone's online profile in seconds.

When you're looking to hire someone, a new caregiver for example, do you look through the web?

Facebook and MySpace are two of the most popular websites in the world. Almost 300 million people use these social networks to host profiles with filled with pictures, blogs, thoughts, friends, and feelings from their personal lives. Often, these profiles are open to view by anyone with a computer and a few spare minutes.

While the access to information can be good for the searcher, the "search-ee" isn't always expecting the inspection. For example, there's this famous Facebook mishap that landed an intern in hot water after he called out of work for an "out-of-state family emergency," but then posted pictures of himself wearing a costume at a Halloween party. Whoops!

Most people put up a profile to express themselves, share interests, and communicate with friends—stuff you do in your private, social life. Does looking up a caregiver's profile cross any borders?

We asked our caregivers that same question in a blog post (Facebook and MySpace: Guess Who's Watching You?) and received an overwhelming response. Some hadn't even thought about employers checking up on them. One surprised nanny said she read the blog and then immediately switched her profile to private! I'll share some of the comments from both sides here.

Plenty of the caregivers (most were nannies or babysitters since the post appeared in our Child Care blog) didn't mind if their employers saw their Facebook pages.

• "I think it's a great idea because then parents will know if their babysitter is honest and responsible! I'm a great babysitter, so please come check out my profile!" – Erika W.
• "I think it's a great idea. It gives potential families a chance to see who you really are and what others think of you. I love the idea and invite anyone to go check out my profile on Facebook and MySpace." - Amy
• "Parents should absolutely have the right to look at their prospect employee's webpage. There is not a job that is more important or more dangerous than watching someone's children. A parent should know exactly who they are getting." – Rebekah T.
• "I think it's okay. But at the same time, I am a wonderful person around children. I know how to act and be a role model. My Facebook and MySpace pages don't reflect who I am as a babysitter. Nobody is perfect and I'm human like everyone. I cuss, burp, and fart like everyone. I just don't do that in front of children…I think it should really matter [most] how well they work with and care for your children." – Desirae W.

But others considered their pages to be part of their private lives—something their employers didn't always need to see.

• "MySpace and Facebook are about friends and child care is about work. Obviously at your job you're going to be professional and attentive to the children...The things I do in my personal life have no reflection on the things in my professional life." - Dawn
• "While I think it's a good idea to check up on who you're hiring, I don't think Facebook and MySpace are the proper venues. That's what personal references are for." – Casien
• I mind—I mind big time. I have a private profile and I invite and approve people I know, and that's it. Why do I mind? ...Potential clients could think that you're irresponsible for what we do in our private time... I like keeping my private life private. If we want to get all "political" here, I'm sure everyone has something to hide." – Andrachell
• "If you don't know by now that employers and future-employers are looking at your MySpace or Facebook—wake up! Make two separate pages if you have to…I personally got rid of MySpace and have only a Facebook and am very careful of what I and my friends put on my page. I'm an open person—but not that open!" – Sarah

How do you feel about checking Facebook and MySpace when you're hiring a caregiver? And if they've set up a private profile, would you ask to see it? Let me hear what you think in the comments!

We also set up a poll on you My Care.com homepage. Just log into your page and vote. Right now, 31% of voters said they have checked out their caregivers' MySpace or Facebook profile!