Social Networking Websites Impact Job Searches
Sites Like Facebook, MySpace Can Hurt Professionals Seeking Jobs
Social networking websites like MySpace and Facebook can be great tools for socializing and networking, but they can also hurt a job seeker's chances of landing a new job, or worse, these social networking sites could get an employee in trouble with the boss.
How Can Social Networking Websites Hurt a Job Search?
Many users of MySpace and Facebook tend to let their guard down when posting photos, messages and other content on the internet. Unfortunately, public MySpace pages and even profile photos for Facebook can be damaging to an employer's impression of a job candidate.
Career counselor and former headhunter Jackie Connolly explained, “Your Facebook or MySpace pages will be some of the first things [potential employers] see since these social networking sites have such high page ranks, meaning they’ll appear at the very top of search engine results.
"What if your MySpace page has pictures posted from your wild birthday party? A prospective employer doesn’t know you as a person, they don’t know when the photo was taken – they’re going by first impressions. And there’s a good chance that this first impression will be less than accurate if they visit a MySpace page.”
The risk of losing a job opportunity due to a MySpace page or Facebook profile photo is much greater if the job hunter found the job listing online - this means the prospective employer is at least minimally internet savvy and is thus more likely to "Google" job candidates.
How Can I Avoid Hurting a Job Hunt With Social Networking Websites?
There are a few simple steps that every person looking for a new job can take to ensure that social networking websites like Facebook and MySpace don't hurt a job search.
- Job searchers should "Google" their own name and check out the results. What will a prospective employer see if they perform a Google search? This is the best way to detect any objectionable material that could potentially hurt a job search.
- Set MySpace pages to "private." Maintaining a private MySpace page gives the Social Networking website user more control over who views their photographs, remarks, and other content that a prospective employer may find objectionable or misleading.
- Use a neutral Facebook photograph. To avoid potentially harming that job search, avoid using a photograph that was taken at that recent birthday party at the local bar. Instead, use a professional looking photograph. The rule of thumb is this: If it's not a photo that could be submitted with a resume, it's not an appropriate photograph for a Facebook profile photo, as the public can see these images in a Facebook profile.
- Be careful what is published in blogs, personal website and other sites on the web. Use caution when posting personal blog entries, stories or other content on the internet. This material may be encountered by a potential employer during the interviewing process, but also by fellow employees at a current job. Blogs, and postings on social networkings sites like MySpace and Facebook can cause problems for a current employee.
"It's vital to use caution when discussing anything work related; a prospective employer may read a blog post or MySpace page and they may get the impression you're revealing confidential company information, reflecting upon the company poorly or sharing other inappropriate information," Connolly added.
In addition, to maintaining a good web persona during a job search, it's also vital to maintain this after being hired for a new job.
When posting on social networking sites like Facebook or on a personal blog while at work, one must be cognizant of date and time stamps, which may reveal to fellow employees or a boss that an employee is visiting non-work related websites during work hours - an action that could ultimately lead to a pink slip.
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