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Social Networking: Do’s and Don’ts

Social networking sites have become a popular form of communication for people you have met at various times throughout your life. They have also become an important tool in making (and keeping) connections with current and former employers and co-workers. Those connections are imperative to your job search.

Networking is a must when embarking on a job search. With increased competitiveness in the job market, an entirely new set of challenges have been presented to job seekers. A job seeker must make his/her resume accessible to as many people possible. This can be accomplished by utilizing resume database sites, responding to classified ads and utilizing social networking sites. The advantages to social networking sites are vast, if and only if, used correctly. To obtain the maximum benefits of this online environment, it is important to know the Do’s and Don’ts of social networking.

There are many ways to keep your profile safe from the “preying” eye. Fortunately for all of us, there are these great tools called privacy settings. From there you can easily choose the privacy level that best suits your needs. This will help you to differentiate between your personal and business profile. It is always important to remember that the World Wide Web is an enormous place and you never know who may be looking at your profiles—so please be discrete and responsible about anything that you or anyone else posts to your profile.

You should also be careful about who you friend request and who you accept as a friend. It’s like your mom always told you, “birds of a feather flock together”. The friends that you keep are a direct reflection of who you are as a person. More likely than not, a prospective employer may use LinkedIn or Facebook as a tool when making the decision of hiring you or any one of your competitors. Their purpose is to scrutinize you from every possible angle, so Beware!

Social networking websites can often be a double-edged sword if not used properly. Taking these simple steps can ensure that your profile will be working for you and not against you. It also ensures that future employers/colleagues will only see the best parts of who you are. You’d be surprised how hiding or “de-tagging” incriminating, inappropriate pictures from your profile can work wonders for your image.

Also, don’t forget to take total advantage of the information sections of your profile. Use this space to list your talents, hobbies and any previous work experience you have had – minus the reining title of ‘Beer Pong Champion’. By simply using a little discretion and a little creative flare you’ll put your best foot forward and hopefully the job offers will come pouring in!

Good luck!

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Posted by Seymour Jobs on 12/05/2008 09:53:00 AM
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Facebook: A Virtual Resume

When I first came to college, Facebook was just beginning to build in popularity. Initially I made a profile to see what my new roommates would be like before I moved in, but it has taken on so much more functions since. Shortly after, I made a Myspace, but I prefer Facebook. I feel that Facebook can be a great tool, if used properly. I don't agree that anyone should have to erase their Facebook, but people definitely should censor themselves. I know that I behave differently depending on the situation (whether I'm in church or with my family versus hanging out with friends) I look at the internet as another situation in which I censor what I post. Even if a picture or comment means one thing to me and my friends, when someone else reads it, they can take it a completely different way and it may offend them. People may chose to dislike you based on what is essentially a miscommunication that you are unaware of. Being in a sorority, being an RA and also on student government, I definitely monitor what pictures are tagged of me and what people write on my wall. Another thing that I try to do now is be careful about which events I RSVP to on Facebook. I never though this was an issue until I heard about a guy who had stalked a girl and would show up at parties she went to because he saw it all on Facebook! Scary! So my advice to incoming freshman or new college graduates is to be careful about every single piece of information that you put out there. I am not trying to say that Facebook is a bad thing, I love mine. I use it in the Greek community, in the clubs I am in, to keep in touch with friends from high school etc. I feel that Facebook is essentially my virtual resume. I make sure my pictures are always good reflections of my life and since I represent many jobs and organizations, I am always aware at how my Facebook reflects on them too.

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Posted by Suzanne on 10/08/2008 01:43:00 AM
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Is 2008 really so close to 1984?

After reading Seymour's latest blog post, I found myself wondering how closely businesses, universities, and other organizations are really monitoring our Internet presence. I know a cursory background check and Web search are common practice, but how deeply do more assiduous (or just plain nosy) HR personnel dig? What, if any, are the rules governing these searches? I'd love for anyone with inside experience to come forward and tell us if we should be blogging beneath tinfoil umbrellas.

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Posted by Brian on 10/05/2008 11:00:00 PM
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Social Networking Damage Control

Saturday night was great.

So great that you don’t even remember it.

You log into your Facebook account, and suddenly, it all comes back to you. Every drink consumed, every obscene gesture made, every porcelain god desecrated – each has been painstakingly documented for all to see, complete with a link to your full profile.

You had just interviewed for that dream job Friday. You know that employers have finally gotten with the times and will likely be scouring your page to learn more about you and assess your character. Uh-oh... time to panic!

When not properly configured, your profile can be a huge liability. Luckily, there are measures that can be taken to keep you secure and mitigate fallout from PR disasters such as the one described above. Facebook and other social networking sites care about your privacy (and avoiding lawsuits), so they’ve implemented a number of features designed to keep you safe and lead prying eyes astray. Knowing what they are and how to properly utilize them can mean the difference between getting a promotion and getting the boot. It bears mentioning, however, that more tech-savvy HR departments have ways of circumventing whatever measures you’ve taken to cover your digital footprints – unfortunately, your safest bet is to erase the offending profile altogether. Having said that, the following precautions are a must if you’re not willing or able to jump off the face of the Web just yet.

1.) Set everything to “Private” or “Friends Only.” Always. This one’s a crapshoot, but it’s the simplest way to divert unwanted traffic from your page. All you need to do is tweak your account settings so that only friends or specific individuals can access your profile. Some sites allow you to choose exactly which components of your profile are friend-exclusive and which can be viewed by the public. Protection of this sort is laughably easy for someone with the know-how to bypass, but hey, you have to start somewhere.

2.) Delete all potentially incriminating or offensive material from your profile.If this sounds too much like selling your soul, don’t worry, it’s not. You’re simply concealing certain aspects of your inner being because they are embarrassing and shameful. Actually, “selling your soul” sounds better. Let’s stick with that. The bottom line is this – you shouldn’t have anything on your page that you wouldn’t mind your parents or kid sister seeing, regardless of how laid-back you perceive your employer and co-workers to be. If the wrong person stumbles across something questionable on your profile, it won’t be long before you find yourself in a difficult place. Better safe than sorry.

3.) Choose your friends wisely.If the Internet has taught us anything, it’s that appearances can be deceiving. No matter how credible they seem, always look upon unsolicited friend requests with suspicion. The person on the other end could be a wily employer.
Or a spammer.
Or a stalker.
Or the Feds.
You get the picture. Also, consider removing any “friends” that you have no legitimate real-world connection to. People know other people, it’s a small world, and word gets around fast. This may sound overly paranoid, but remember that saying anything online is usually tantamount to barking it through a megaphone in a public square – you’ll want a small crowd should you say something inappropriate.

Networking sites can be excellent social and professional tools, and their benefits generally surpass their drawbacks. Just be mindful of the fact that they’re to be used in certain ways – and broadcasting the intimate details of your personal life to the world’s half-billion Internet users isn’t (usually) one of them. If you play it safe, this shouldn’t be a problem. If you don’t, I eagerly await next Saturday’s batch of pictures... They’ll be good for a laugh!

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Posted by Seymour Jobs on 10/03/2008 11:18:00 AM
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