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Dear Miriam,
I’m about to look for a new job. The plight of the hostages taken on Oct. 7 and others affected by terrorism in Israel really concerns me, and my social media presence reflects this. For example, my Facebook profile pictures include advocacy for the hostages. I am worried that prospective employers will see either my Jewish identity or my support for Israel and it will impact my chances of being hired. Should I change my profile pictures and hide my identity and support for Israel during my job search?
Signed,
Scared of my Socials
Dear Scared,
If you feel like you have to hide your identity in order to get a job, will you, by extension, feel like you have to hide your identity once you get a new job? Any doubts that you have about how your identity factors into you getting or not getting a job would be likely to stay with you throughout your time in the job. Most importantly, a place that doesn’t want to hire you for being publicly, proudly Jewish may not be a place where you want to work.
I don’t think you should delete any of your posts in support of hostages. If, however, in retrospect, you are concerned that any of your posts send the wrong message about who you are and what you stand for, then you should consider deleting those. If your profile picture shows you with a hostage support filter or similar, that also seems fine. However, if it’s a picture that doesn’t actually show your face, then I would consider updating your profile picture, not because of what it does show but because of what it doesn’t. If a prospective employer is looking you up, they will probably want to see what you look like, so you should make that possible.
You also need to do your own due diligence. Look at the social media profiles of prospective employers. Do they post political messages of any kind? Do you agree with them? What kind of statements are on these organizations’ websites, or on their executives’ social media feeds? Do you agree with any stances they take publicly – on Israel or on anything else? This is a dramatically divisive time in America, and you want to make sure that you aren’t putting yourself in an uncomfortable position, just as you don’t want an employer to do that to you.
You should also consider the privacy settings on your social media accounts, both for future employers but also, honestly, for anyone who goes looking. It’s not just politics people can find out but also where you live, where your kids go to school, and anything else that might purposefully or accidentally be revealed by your posts.
Finally, though this isn’t really what you’re asking, I’m going to offer this: what are you hoping to accomplish with your social media posts? Are you raising awareness for people who aren’t aware of the plight of the hostages? Are you just expressing your horror in any way you have at your disposal? Are you aiming to weed out your friends who don’t think like you? Are you trying to make a statement for anyone – including prospective employers – who may be seeking out your profile? Are you seeking connection with people who agree with you? None of these are right or wrong answers, but it’s worth thinking about why you post something before you post it – not just about Israel but literally anything you put on social media. What’s your goal? Are you accomplishing your goal? If so, post away. And if not, maybe give it a second thought so you’re not asking these kinds of follow-up conversations in the future.
Be well,
Miriam
