Facebook is a part of life for many young career professionals. Although its popularity started in college dorms, Facebook now has a wider reach. Because it is such an accepted part of life, young job changers may not realize that Facebook can be deadly to their job search.
College career counselors have done a great job of warning students looking for internships and jobs after graduation, but people who are at the beginning of their careers may not realize that, especially in this economic recession, they could be looking to change jobs next week. So, while college seniors take precautions to prevent that Saturday night party or Spring Break photo from derailing an internship or post-grad job offer, the twenty-something employed professional is blithely making status updates.
If you are in the job market to change jobs, about to be in the job market, or have a better chance of needing to change jobs in the next six months than you do of being a contestant on a reality TV show, here are some tips to avoid that dream career-limiting blooper on Facebook:
1-Change your privacy settings so that only your closest (know to you personally for more than a few days) friends can see your information.
2-Make sure your friends know you are in a job search, and are aware that what they post may hurt your chances.
3-If you have information on Facebook that could be questionable, remove your profile for the duration of your job search (and to be safe, for a few months into your new job).
4-If your circle of party friends is prone to posting and tagging photos, be diligent about preventing tags to new photos that include you.
5-Here’s a rule of thumb about what should not appear: nudity that would not be acceptable on a family-oriented beach, pda’s (that’s public display of affection, not personal digital assistant), recreational drug use, drinking games or other overconsumption of alcohol, cheating on a test, or other miscellaneous misdemeanor or felony behavior. In other words, if you wouldn’t want your parent to see it in print, picture or video, it doesn’t belong in the public domain, especially during or near your job search.
6-If you are unsure whether information on Facebook might fall in one of the inappropriate categories, ask someone you trust who is at least 10 years older than you. Then take their advice.
7-If layoffs are imminent in your company or your industry, make your move now. Clean up or remove your Facebook page.
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