December 22, 2010

Facebook: job-seeking friend or foe?

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By Kristen Fife
NWjobs

Q: I have a personal Facebook page that I use fairly frequently, and a business Facebook page with very few followers. I prefer keeping my personal and work life separate, but I know there are people in my personal Facebook list who do similar work and I can network with them. I'm comfortable with my privacy settings, so my hesitation isn't really so much about privacy. What is the general opinion about putting one's work history on Facebook? Is everybody doing it and I need to get over my boundary between "personal" and "professional?"
--SO, Seattle

Kristen says: Even with your privacy settings at a “comfortable” level, I would think long and hard about making Facebook a job-seeking tool if you are trying to keep your personal profile somewhat separate from your work life. I would suggest that you send LinkedIn invites to those contacts who may be able to help you with your career search; LinkedIn is built as a professional networking platform, and it is what most recruiters use in the Seattle area. Alternately, sending your contacts e-mail or giving them a call, or maybe meeting for lunch or coffee (time allowing) would be a more personal way of asking them to help you.

Regardless of your privacy settings, you should know that the current trend is that anything that is on the internet is considered “public domain.” There are tools on the internet like the Wayback Machine and Spokeo that make your information, current and past, more accessible than you realize.

Many recruiting and HR professionals look at potential candidates/employees via social media such as Facebook, Google, MySpace and Twitter. I was recently speaking to a recruiter in another area of the country seeking candidate referrals. This person was replacing a contractor for a client who was unable to reach the incumbent, who worked remotely, for several days. Then someone on the client team who knew the incumbent via Facebook forwarded his Facebook status to the manager. He was talking about his vacation in Bora Bora, which he had not told anyone about. It's a good example of how the line between your personal and work life isn't determined by your privacy settings.

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