Even though I am now electronically enabled without blue screen of death experiences, I don’t have the bandwidth to constantly hammer out short messages on my various keyboard devices. Besides, if I am always looking down at a keyboard on…
Archive for category Networking
I’ve just had one of the most unusual first interviews in my 20 years as a working (and, lately, job seeking) professional. Armed with excellent information and company market research about the firm’s products, I went in prepared with a…
It is true — everything happens in threes. For example, over the past weekend I had three very near misses in traffic accidents. I was particularly stressed out that my young sons were in the car each time. The last…
It is true — everything happens in threes. For example, over the past weekend I had three very near misses in traffic accidents. I was particularly stressed out that my young sons were in the car each time. The last…
One small silver lining to being unemployed in this particular recession is that there’s a lot of company, so you don’t have to go at it alone! At present, I attend 3 job search networking groups on a fairly regular…
Just prior to being laid off from my former employer, several influential colleagues explicitly told me — and reaffirmed a few times — to stay in touch. Now, there are ways to stay in touch that put you ahead of…
In a phone interview during my last job hunt, an interviewer (not at Microsoft) asked me if I had a Facebook account. Since we weren’t meeting in person, he wanted to put a face with the name.
It made sense that he would want a visual, but my heart sunk when I thought about what he might see: “Am I holding a martini glass in my profile picture? Did I set my birthday party photos to private? Will he be able to access the outlandish comments friends post on my wall?”
You can imagine my relief when I found that I had indeed set my profile to private and my photo was a smiley (and alcohol-free) version of my face. But this experience got me thinking: How can job seekers prepare their social networking profiles for employers’ eyes?
1. Set your profile to private: The most obvious solution, changing your settings can block users who aren’t your friends from searching for you or seeing your profile. You can also limit which friends can see your profile, so if you happen to be connected with a potential employer, you’re able to restrict what they can and can’t see. Here’s more information on Facebook privacy and MySpace privacy.
2. Un-tag or remove inappropriate photos: Just because your college buddies love the snapshot of you riding a mechanical bull while double fisting red Solo cups does not mean an employer will be a fan of your debauchery. Remember the heat Obama’s speech writer took for his Hillary cutout photos? It’s a good idea to ask friends to avoid tagging you, and you can self-censor what you post. You can also block specific networks from seeing certain photo albums.
3. Avoid writing negatively about the employer: Anything you post online can and will be read by someone – whether it’s the employer or someone connected to the employer. The “Cisco fatty” is just one example of how you can ruin your chances of being hired by knocking an employer on the web.
4. Add apps and join groups selectively: The Commando Fridays group might have been a great inside joke with your former colleagues but it could have a potential employer raising an eyebrow at your application. On the other hand, joining a group created by an industry society could reflect positively. Click “join” wisely!
5. Create personal and professional profiles: Having one profile intended for friends and another for employers can be useful. For example, I only accept Facebook friend requests from people I know socially (whether that’s at work or outside of it). I use my LinkedIn account to connect with people I know professionally (some I’ve worked with closely, others I’ve only met once or twice at company meetings). Rejecting a friend request from a professional can be a little awkward, but sending a personal and polite message explaining why you’ve denied them will get you through.
With one out of five employers using social networking sites to learn about candidates, these are tips you’ll want to consider. Still, it’s good to keep in mind that employers aren’t out to get you on the web. They’re simply tapping into the wealth of online resources to get a better sense of who they might be working with. If you have some of your own profile preparation advice, please share on the comment board!
-Meghan
We’ve got Job Search Guy Radio Show #2 for you. This show highlights Networking, with cool tips from three experts. You’ll get an exclusive interview with networking pro, Jessica Miller-Merrill on 7 Ways to Network on a Shoestring Budget. In…
