By Glynn Cosker
Online Career Tips Contributor
Only 10 years ago, if you were looking for an ideal job in your selected career path, landing that dream assignment meant that you handed over a stellar resume and then wowed the hiring manager during the interview. Not so today. More and more companies are turning to social networking sites to delve into a candidate’s day-to-day activities—and it doesn’t take much on your Facebook page to turn off a prospective employer.
A recent CareerBuilder.com survey showed that 43% of hiring managers decided not to hire someone based on what they saw on a candidate’s social media page. According to the poll, the top negative finding was the uploading of provocative or inappropriate photographs. That was followed by candidates who mentioned drinking or using drugs. Coming third in the survey were candidates who bad-mouthed their previous employers, co-workers or clients.
If you are one of the thousands of people currently seeking employment, take a good look at your Facebook security or privacy settings. There are ways to make your page strictly private, but Facebook often changes its privacy set up, which affects what is searchable on your page.
Here are some other important tips to sanitize your Facebook presence:
1. Look at your photographs—All of them!
You may be a well settled 25-year-old now with only cute photos of your puppy filling your page, but what about five or six years ago? Potential employers will go back that far so delete the 200 pics of you and your college pal, looking drunk while holding the two for one shot special in either hand.
2. Be careful when posting comments on other pages.
Whatever you post as a comment on any page will often show up in a Google search of your name. Think twice about what you put in a comment—especially on a commercial page, which are nearly always public and will be found in a web search.
3. Examine pages or causes you’ve ‘liked’ in the past.
Five years ago, you may have liked the pages entitled “The Art of Drinking Games,” or “My Boss is a Tool,” but it’s time to “un-like” them if you’re serious about landing your ideal job. In fact, go ahead and ‘like’ pages that will assist you in your job search.
4. Look back at workday postings.
In an interview, you may spend time outlining your busy work day, your time management skills, and your commitment to staying on task. A prospective employer will bristle if he or she then views your Facebook page and sees that you’ve been posting to it every 10 minutes during the day, Monday to Friday.
5. Google Yourself!
Seems a little silly, but it’s quite important. In fact, it’s almost certainly the first thing a hiring manager will do. There are ways to correct any negative associations with your name. Facebook remains the world’s most popular social media site, and it’s becoming a mandatory checkpoint for hiring companies. Instagram and Twitter will be investigated too, so clean those up if you’re looking for work.
Finally, if you’re currently a college student and you know you’ll be looking to start your career soon, it’s a great idea to proactively censor what shows up on the internet with your name attached to it.
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