Is Facebook Hurting your Job Search
It may sound like an odd question at first: Is Facebook hurting your job search? Maybe it even sounds like something not worth considering; yet, in reality, employers are more often looking at the Facebook profiles of their potential hires now, and the practice makes a lot of sense, considering how much you can tell about a person by how they use social media. Consider some elements of your Facebook usage and how they can affect your prospects of getting hired.ConductThis may sound like a no-brainer, yet millions of people make this mistake: If you are proudly displaying poor personal decisions all over your Facebook page, this will not (and should not) reflect well on you, even to an employer. Especially for younger people seeking to launch their careers in the field of their passion, if you have photos of heavy drinking and mindless partying every weekend, discerning employers should frown on such immaturity.
ContactsPerhaps sadly though, even if your own conduct is immaculate, those of your friends and family can have a negative impact on your job search. Maybe you have an awkward acquaintance who insists on posting daily expletive-laden insults on your Facebook wall in misguided attempts at humor. Perhaps you have a cousin who often posts off-color “inside jokes” that, to an outsider, would appear horrifying without context. Consider viewing your Facebook profile information and wall as though you were an outside observer, and you may be shocked at how badly you may perceive yourself, even only judging by the posts of others.ContentEven if your own conduct is spotless, and you have nothing but the most respectable contacts in the world, your content can still cause a potential employer to frown upon you. Why? Depending on the position you are applying for, especially within the realm of marketing and sales, even something as simple as not posting often enough or poorly utilizing features can be seen as hurting your job search. Social media is becoming an essential component of many jobs out there, and although Facebook is just a piece of that picture, it will not bode well if you have few Facebook friends and rarely post status updates or other media.Is Facebook hurting your job search? The answer is “Maybe.” It potentially could be; fortunately, responsible practice of social media using simple common sense should avoid any employment-related hazards. But to deny the rising importance of this responsibility would be folly.
