6 Career-Killing Facebook Mistakes
by Erin Joyce, Investopedia.com
Monday, April 12, 2010
provided by

With more than 400 million active visitors, Facebook is arguably the most popular social networking site out there. And while the site is known for the casual social aspect, many users also use it as a professional networking tool. With that kind of reach, Facebook can be a valuable tool for connecting to former and current colleagues, clients and potential employers. In fact, surveys suggest that approximately 30% of employers are using Facebook to screen potential employees – even more than those who check LinkedIn, a strictly professional social networking site. Don't make these Facebook faux-pas – they might cost you a great opportunity.

1. Inappropriate Pictures
It may go without saying, but prospective employers or clients don't want to see pictures of you chugging a bottle of wine or dressed up for a night at the bar. Beyond the pictures you wouldn't want your grandparents to see, seemingly innocent pictures of your personal life will likely not help to support the persona you want to present in your professional life.

2. Complaining About Your Current Job
You've no doubt done this at least once. It could be a full note about how much you hate your office, or how incompetent your boss is, or it could be as innocent as a status update about how your coworker always shows up late. While everyone complains about work sometimes, doing so in a public forum where it can be found by others is not the best career move. Though it may seem innocent, it's not the kind of impression that sits well with a potential boss.

3. Posting Conflicting Information to Your Resume
If you say on your resume that your degree is from Harvard, but your Facebook profile says you went to UCLA, you're likely to be immediately cut from the interview list. Even if the conflict doesn't leave you looking better on your resume, disparities will make you look at worst like a liar, and at best careless.

4. Statuses You Wouldn't Want Your Boss to See
Everyone should know to avoid statuses like "Tom plans to call in sick tomorrow so he can get drunk on a Wednesday. Who cares that my big work project isn't done?" But you should also be aware of less flamboyant statuses like "Sarah is watching the gold medal hockey game online at her desk". Statuses that imply you are unreliable, deceitful, and basically anything that doesn't make you look as professional as you'd like, can seriously undermine your chances at landing that new job.

5. Not Understanding Your Security Settings
The security settings on Facebook have come a long way since the site started. It is now possible to customize lists of friends and decide what each list can and cannot see. However, many people do not fully understand these settings, or don't bother to check who has access to what. If you are going to use Facebook professionally, and even if you aren't, make sure you take the time to go through your privacy options. At the very least, your profile should be set so that people who are not your friend cannot see any of your pictures or information.

6. Losing By Association
You can't control what your friends post to your profile (although you can remove it once you see it), nor what they post to their own profiles or to those of mutual friends. If a potential client or employer sees those Friday night pictures your friend has tagged you in where he is falling down drunk, it reflects poorly on you, even if the picture of you is completely innocent. It's unfortunate, but we do judge others by the company they keep, at least to some extent. Take a look at everything connected to your profile, and keep an eye out for anything you wouldn't want to show your mother.

Facebook Can Help You Get Hired - Or Fired
The best advice is to lock down your personal profile so that only friends you approve can see anything on that profile. Then, create a second, public profile on Facebook purely for professional use. This profile functions like an online resume, and should only contain information you'd be comfortable telling your potential employer face to face. Having a social networking profile is a good thing – it presents you as technologically and professionally savvy. Just make sure your profile is helping to present your best side – not the side that got drunk at your buddy's New Year's party.

http://ca.finance.yahoo.c...k-mistakes

Honestly.....if a company is looking at Facebook 4 reasons 2 hire or not hire u. FU*K that company.

Just have your privacy settings set in place and know who your accepting
as 'friends'.

As a corporate recruiter Facebook is one of the places I go to get more information about potential hires. I don't have a facebook account but I have my assistant look them up. You'll be amazed at all the stupid shit I've read from potential employees. If they're that stupid as to not know to either lock or tone down their facebook accounts while on the job hunt than I won't even bother to bring them in.

That's why you go under an alias on Facebook - now that it's open to everyone...

Duh.

TheResistor said:

How do you feel about people who don't have anything incriminating or inappropriate on their accounts (no crazy pics, bitchy posts, etc.) but you can tell they post during the work day?

jone70 said:

I don't mind if employees are on facebook. When I'm recruiting I look for inappropriate pictures, fools that advertise when they're calling in sick, talking about employers or former employers. Stuff like that.

I would rather not work for an entity that would care about crazy shit I put on facebook. But, luckily, so far in my professional life, the more creative and crazy I get (without being destructive) the better it is for my professional image. And I would rather go poor and free than fear some corporate judgment of inappropriateness. From my view it looks like that would by quite hypocritical in most cases with the people in power of most corporations!

It reminds me of this woman I once met who was picking up copies at a copy store. She turned her nose up at some off white resumes being bagged, and said she would not even look at a resume that was printed on plain white paper. I thought to myself, "I would never want to work with her".

TheResistor said:

I would rather not work for an entity that would care about crazy shit I put on facebook. But, luckily, so far in my professional life, the more creative and crazy I get (without being destructive) the better it is for my professional image. And I would rather go poor and free than fear some corporate judgment of inappropriateness. From my view it looks like that would by quite hypocritical in most cases with the people in power of most corporations!

It reminds me of this woman I once met who was picking up copies at a copy store. She turned her nose up at some off white resumes being bagged, and said she would not even look at a resume that was printed on plain white paper. I thought to myself, "I would never want to work with her".

there's a motto in life that still applies...

cover your ass!!

jone70 said:

I don't mind if employees are on facebook. When I'm recruiting I look for inappropriate pictures, fools that advertise when they're calling in sick, talking about employers or former employers. Stuff like that.

TheResistor said:

I would rather not work for an entity that would care about crazy shit I put on facebook. But, luckily, so far in my professional life, the more creative and crazy I get (without being destructive) the better it is for my professional image. And I would rather go poor and free than fear some corporate judgment of inappropriateness. From my view it looks like that would by quite hypocritical in most cases with the people in power of most corporations!

It reminds me of this woman I once met who was picking up copies at a copy store. She turned her nose up at some off white resumes being bagged, and said she would not even look at a resume that was NOT printed on plain white paper. I thought to myself, "I would never want to work with her".
[Edited 4/12/10 19:45pm]

ufoclub said:

But you work in the arts and the reality of day to day working relationships is completely different, based on a whole different set of personality and performance criteria. Perhaps you might be able to get away with far more than the person that has to don a suit and work in a bank or civic servic service position...

My personal life at home with my kids is not my employer's business.

Well actually, it is, because whoever I work with has pretty much met my kids.

Heiress said:

some of the people I've worked for have babysat my kids while I did the work for them!!