Being a
senior in college the sphere of adult living is way too close for comfort. This
means bills, taking care of my own place, and first, before anything else, a job. In
the age, jobs are a lot harder to find, and more often than not, many employers
are turning to the web to take care of applications. This also means that they
turn to the web for informal background checks. The most common of these checks
are checking if possible employees have a Facebook page and what content is on that
page. So the first thing anyone who is looking to get a job at a pretty
reputable company should do is check their profile and make sure all the privacy settings are
set to private. This makes it so only the people that you want to see the content will see it. The next
big thing is the pictures. No employer wants to see the possible employee all rosy
holding a red solo cup. This will create a bad impression right out of the gate.
Go through and delete any pictures that can be seen as risqué or juvenile or at the very least untag yourself so they don't show up on your pictures page. If someone really
wants to make sure those picture aren’t even up there, they can report the pic
to Facebook and do a sort of petition to remove the picture completely from the
social network.
These
are just tips on how to improve the security of one’s profile from a possible employer.
There is another possible road to go down, but that is for the extreme people.
This is actually creating another profile just for the professional world. This
profile would have things such as a friends list comprised of professional connections,
only a few pictures, all of which in business or professional attire, and
only posts that are professional in nature.
Like
I said before this is the extreme option if one wants to make sure that nothing
slips through the cracks that an employer can find. All these tips are to make
sure that an employer sees the best side of a person. In all honesty I believe
that people can have a bit of a wild social life, and still have impeccable work
experience, qualifications, and ethics. But employers don’t want to roll the
dice on individuals that could be a potential bust for them. So its best to
just “cover one’s tracks” to make sure that a great job opportunity doesn’t pass
you up because of a picture of you and some friends drinking.
Interesting idea to create a second profile. Now does this mean you still keep you original one? What is the difference then? Can't employers still find out embarrasing stuff about a person? Or is the purpose of the second profile to be a public one that can be searched whereas the original one is kept private. Honestly I don't see this as a viable solution. I rather think it makes more sense to keep a clean private Facebook account and create professional Linkedin profiles or portfolios.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that Facebook can be used positively as a tool for job recruitment? Say for example an employer sees interests on a prospect's page that align with the ideals of their business could they potentially see this as a good thing? Or if someone has albums of volunteer work do you think this could entice a potential employer?
ReplyDeleteI don't think sharing your Facebook page with potential employers is a good idea. I can see your point that common interests might be an ice-breaker for the actual interview. But I doubt that this is the reason why a person would be invited. I believe firms rather look for content to avoid inviting a wrong candidate. If you have done volunteer work you can include this on professional social media sites like Linkedin.
DeleteIt's very interesting that organizations will go out of their way to check a potential employees social media site just as a precautionary step of hiring someone. I do not think that organizations should judge someone because they like to enjoy the nightlife. I feel like it depends on what they are doing. If the person is smoking pot or doing some risque as you mentioned earlier, then that makes sense. But drinking a beer with family friend? That's a bit harsh because most people do it. Do you think that companies will not hire someone based on a lie but for something that is illegal such as religious affiliations or race?
ReplyDelete