Always give good face(book)

April 29th, 2008

Like zillions of other web-wanderers, I’m on Facebook. I don’t use it much, mind you - I keep forgetting how to add stuff and alter my image. Yes, ok, fine - I have to admit I’m ’social website’-challenged.

Not like my friend Kelly. Her page is long and chock-full of all kinds of photos, questions and bells-n-whistles. It’s like looking at a very neat online scrap-book, which in a way, I suppose is what Facebook is all about.

But beware, job seekers! As with most time-wastin’ fun on the internet, there is a dark cloud over this holly-jolly glimpse into your personal and/or private life. I just read an article about how employers are now checking up on job applicants on social sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and MySpace in an effort to see what kind of person they’re REALLY hiring.

That’s fair enough for most people, who have nice benign little pages, but spare a thought for the people who thought their MySpace/Facebook/Blogs were like little private diaries until they found out otherwise the (very) hard way: the cranky guy who wrote a scathing entry about his boss/workplace and was promptly sacked; and the chick with the drunken party photos on her page whose employers showed her the door.

For the few documented cases like these, no doubt there are countless examples of applicants whose resumes are shown the bin after employers discover strange and disturbing content on their Facebook pages.

Is it fair? Not really. But I said in an earlier post, the web is a great tool for digging - for jobs, for information, and for background on employers. Obviously, that tool ‘digs’ both ways. As a job hunter, it’s up to you: run the risk of turning off an employer with personal content you have posted online, or cover your bum (literally!) and play by ‘the rules’, fair or not. So think about…

> making any dubious content - pix of you wearing naught but a bib and jackboots, video of your wild night in Vegas - private and/or only accessible by friends.

> avoiding scandalous, misinterpretable or nasty entries in your blog.

> considering adding helpful job-seeking information to your Facebook/MySpace pages.

It’s a strange and wonderful thing, this internet, letting you share everything with the world. Just be careful that stuff you’re sharing sends the right message!

Happy job hunting!

> Kristin

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