Social media and your job search...
Social networking tools can be a fantastic resource throughout all phases of your job search—you have probably already discovered LinkedIn, a tool that can be leveraged to promote the quality of your work, lead you to job openings, advertise your credentials and connect you directly to hiring managers and recruiters in your field (all without actually advertising your interest in making a job change). And Facebook isn’t just for teenagers anymore; your company, your favorite restaurant, your high school sweetheart and even your boss are more than likely just a few keystrokes away.
The demise of undo...
Last week, it was announced that the Library of Congress would be archiving all tweets—even those no longer accessible to account holders. And you may have noticed changes to the privacy settings on your Facebook page about six months ago; according to founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, if he had it to do all over again, he would make the entire site public.
[For the record, if he had it to do all over again, I imagine he would also think twice about posting that drunken, shirtless, teddy bear photo that started circulating immediately after the setting changes took place: see GAWKER article here.]
Which brings me exactly to my point: Facebook is a great tool for connecting and reconnecting with friends and family but if you don’t understand your privacy settings, it can easily be used against you.
According a Careerbuilder study conducted last summer, nearly half (45%) of all hiring managers visit social networking sites as part of the candidate evaluation process. Of those, 35% reported at least one instance of not hiring a candidate based on something discovered in that process. On a positive note, 18% reported at least one instance of hiring a candidate based on something discovered in that process.
What you need to know...
► As of December, ALL of the following is considered public and cannot be hidden by privacy settings: your name, gender, profile photo (choose carefully!), current city, friends (you CAN pick your friends), networks and fan pages.
► You can make your profile ‘un-searchable.’
► You can change privacy settings for everything down to individual albums.
► Always edit your content—especially photos and wall posts.
► Remember that you are not the only person generating viewable content on your page; your friends have the ability to tag you in photos, add you to notes, and post to your wall if you let them.
► Resist the urge to “overshare”—don’t use Facebook to announce personal details like your breakup, what a jerk your boss was today, that you just started looking for a new job, that you hate your current job (or anything else, for that matter), that you just found out you’re having a baby…you get the picture.
For more great tips and step by step instructions, visit: Facebook Privacy Settings Explained
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