Six career killing Facebook mistakes your friends might make
Mon 12 December 2011
, LEAPredactie, LEAP
With more than 400 million active visitors, Facebook is arguably the most popular social networking site. And many users also use it as a professional networking tool. 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. So you should not make serious mistakes – they might cost you a great opportunity. But some mistakes are made by others who unwittingly trip you up. “You are tagged in your party animal-friend’s photo.”
In an article for www.investopedia.com Erin Joyce warns against six faux-pas. The first four are quite obvious:
- Inappropriate pictures
- Complaining about your surrent job
- Posting Information to Your Resume that conflicts with your Facebook profile and
- Statuses You Wouldn't Want Your Boss to See.
But the other two are more complex:
- Not Understanding Your Security Settings and
- Losing by association.
These are quite important though. 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. 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. While you’re in your privacy settings, have a closer look and also find out if others can “check you in” to places and show where you are?
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 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.
Yes, but…..how to prevent being tagged? If you’re feeling uncomfortable with the whole idea, you can, at a minimum, disable the tagging function so Facebook’s robots aren’t running around tagging your name on photos they spot. Here’s how to do it:
• Go to “Account” on the upper right side of Facebook and choose “Privacy Settings” from the drop-down menu.
• Choose “Customize Settings.”
• Then pick “Suggest photos of me to friends.”
• Click “Edit Settings” and choose “Disabled” and click “Okay.”
And in any case always remember that today a quick search of a person’s name can deliver a lot information, including a photo of you during that party yesterday, doing something you might not remember let alone be reminded of. And, by the way, the HR-manager of company you’d like to work for is looking at it this very minute.
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