Let Social Media (Facebook) be your friend, not your enemy

As a job seeker, social media can be your best friend. It also can become your worst enemy. When it comes to Facebook, it is probably a good idea to set your profile privacy parameters in a manner that does not let the public see your personal exploits. Think of it as another “reference check.” If you are posting pictures showing you engaging in sketchy behavior, or making posts that could be construed as offensive or discriminatory I nature, you could be ruled out automatically by an employer. And just because you set your privacy settings or detag yourself from pictures, realize that they still exist. Once something is posted online, it never totally disappears.

Just to go ahead and answer it…….yes we do check out profiles on Facebook. A citation in the Bloomberg article notes that a study by Harris Interactive found that 45% of employers surveyed were using social networks to screen job applicants. Keep in mind that the article was written in September of 2009, so that number has most likely risen substantially since then. It may seem completely innocent or done out of frustration at the time, but comments and posts can prove detrimental.

The following articles speak more about the potential pitfalls of Facebook.

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2011/0718/features-facebook-social-media-google-destroy-job-search.html

http://www.businessweek.com/careers/workingparents/blog/archives/2009/09/jobs_facebook_and_the_clueless_generation.html

The final post from a blog shows real life stories where people lost their jobs because of poor social media etiquette. Just as a caution, there is some language that may be offensive. I am including this as an example of what really happens out there though just to serve as a reminder.

http://blog.brand-yourself.com/social-media/social-media-news/social-media-etiquette-horror-stories-top-5-ways-to-lose-your-job-via-social-media/

Use common sense, and treat Facebook as you would a professional job interview. If you wouldn’t mention something there, then you wouldn’t want to display it on Facebook either.