Yes, your picture of you and your beer pong victory shows your athletic nature. Your shotgunning a beer while skiing down a mountain pic demonstrates your multitasking abilities and your “I love Democrats” status shows you are passionate about politics. However, future and current employers may not share the same point of view.
45 percent of employers use Facebook to screen possible interns and employees; 70 percent of employers have rejected a candidate because of information they found about that person online. Here are some tips on how to clean up your Facebook profile.
1. Go through your photos tagged by others
If you don’t want a future or current boss to see the picture, then untag it. This includes photos featuring drinking, provocative outfits or other inappropriate behavior.
Make sure your profile picture is both expressive and mature – no pictures of you doing a keg stand or getting low at the club.
2. Take a look at your “info” page
Although it may be obvious, leave out any information containing bad language and drug references. It is important to portray professionalism through your Facebook page.
3. Never say anything negative about a current or past employer
Not talking badly about any employer or job experience is the golden rule of social media etiquette. Not only could you get in trouble and potentially fired over negative content, it could also affect future promotions and trust in the company.
In addition, it could come back to haunt you in future interviews for a new position at a different company.
4. Private or limited profile
Regardless of how much you untag and censor, it is always a good idea to set your Facebook page to private. This can easily be done through your Facebook settings.
Keep in mind that everything you put on Facebook reflects both your judgment and professionalism. The good news is that you can take control of your Facebook profile and create a profile that puts your best self forward!
And, be sure to like the FutureRanking.com Facebook page to see a prime example of professionalism.
Happy Facebooking!
Amy Sanford
FutureRanking.com Social Media Manager
Love it! Its a shame the employee I fired yesterday didn’t get a chance to read this. . .
Awesome stuff, great read. Hopefully this helps me with my job search.
Great information on what to do and more importantly what NOT to do with your Facebook.
I wish I could share the things I have found out on Facebook when going through resumes
But that would be a blog post in itself.
I agree… anything that’s unprofessional should be kept away from publicity, especially if you have the company you work for as a friend on any social networking groups. Also, bad mouthing a company you used to work for is unnecessary.
Words of wisdom! You’d think this is common sense (which I guess some people lack) but some have to find out the hard way. Great article!
This is so true, I have a friend this happened to, so she just made seperate accounts, one for business affairs and the other for friends and family and set them to private.
I have mixed feeling about what I should worry about on my Facebook profile. You also use privacy setting and block cretin Facebook uses to what the can see.
Very good article. Even though a lot of people may think Facebook is a personal social site it judges character. If you manage it right you will keep your image clean and respected.
I Agree with the above comments. Most people don’t realize it until its too late. All these social Networks give off so much information about an individual that companies will take it under consideration when reviewing resumes. Really good Article Amy
This blog post is one of the best yet, I completely agree with this. Regardless which employer your working for – Facebook is very popular so there is bound to be SOMEONE that will be adding you as a friend, therefore you want to be displaying a positive image for yourself.
Also, check out this sweet blog I found: http://www.stresslessblog.com
And this is why Google+ Circles are so awesome!
I somewhat agree with this. It’s more than important to keep your default picture professional and not use foul language for everyone to see but Facebook is meant to connect friends and family in different ways. If one of my family members tags me in a pic of Christmas dinner last year I’ll keep it. If I attended one of my best friend’s birthday parties and its a picture of a large partying crowd but the main focus is me and my best friends I won’t un-tag or censor it. (I love my friends and am proud of them. I view social networking as a window to people’s lives and and outlet of expression. Of course professionalism should be taken into consideration but there are other aspects of life. Keeping certain albums private to friends only is a great way to avoid a negative interpretation of your profile. Also screening who you allow to actually be your friend…But YES, that picture of you doing a keg-stand Junior year, should be kept to trusted eyes only.
And of course we love Amy and her bloggin skillz :B Thanks for the info girl!
I have come across pictures (strangers to me) that would “put their mother to the blush” as the British say. Don’t these people have any: shame, decency, taste, modesty,self-control etc etc etc? Anymore? Perhaps they’re not thinking about the SIZE of Facebook?
Of course, while it’s a sneaky way to check on a future employee, I don’t consider it FAIR because people do things with their friends that they would not necessarily do at home. Also, if they let their hair down for “once” and got photographed, image their dismay! It’s a hard lesson when you think of it. And if they have more than 2 weeks pasted on their wall, THEN it’s fair.
I appreciate your post. Thumbs up
I recommend doing humor to promote a better working climate.