A recruiter Facebooked me!

So, Friday night’s party was great fun. Everyone was taking pictures, and you laughed Monday morning at the pictures you and others posted, tagging each other diligently. You note that some of the pictures aren’t that great…no one should show that much cleavage…and you really didn’t want to see Bob’s rear-end AGAIN…but it’s funny, and you think nothing of it. But did you know…

the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) reported that “nearly one in five employers will either begin using social networking web sites or increase their use” in their recruiting efforts this year? (Spotlight, September 17, 2008)

That’s right…Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace…employers are there, and they are trying to find you. Sometimes it’s because they want to do a little unofficial background investigation, but sometimes it’s because your resume made you look like a great candidate, and they are trying to find you to proactively recruit you. However, a great resume combined with a picture of your beer bong talents probably doesn’t equal “top recruit.”

This might make you angry. You might say, “What are they doing on Facebook anyway?!” “It’s a SOCIAL networking site, not a professional networking site!” But a lot of the recruiters are recent graduates who used and continue to use Facebook for personal reasons. So, even if you have your profile marked as private, it is easy for one of your 200+ friends who is also friends with a recruiter to show him/her your profile while he/she is in town recruiting.

Don’t freak out. Don’t boycott Facebook. Do mark your profile as private. Do clean things up. (Are you ok if Grandma Fran sees your pictures and favorite quotes?) Do go through the Personal Internet Presence Self Audit below. Do use professional networking sites like LinkedIn.
Once you get your profile cleaned up, use it to network for job opportunities. Networking is the number one way to get a job. Send out an announcement of what kind of job you are seeking and where. Maybe someone’s mother’s brother’s son’s mother-in-law works at your dream job’s company. Social networking sites can be a great asset for your job search. Also, join groups that will provide you with professional information like CDS’s “I don’t want to live in my parent’s basement after graduation” Group.

If you have a question about anything, direct a quick question to the Virtual Career Counselor between 2 and 4, M-F or contact a career counselor at 844.4744 for an appointment or walk-in from noon – 4, M-F.

Job Seekers Self-Audit

Email Address

• What is the e-mail address you use on your resume?
• Does this email expire in the near future or is it permanent?
• In your opinion, is this address is professional or funny?

On-line Resume

• Do you have a resume posted on any career web sites?
• Is your resume on this (these) site(s) current?
• For each place that you have it posted, are you familiar and comfortable with the site’s privacy policy? (If not, do some research.)
• Has your resume been posted on the Internet by your academic department?
• Do you belong to any student organizations or other groups? Have any of these groups posted your resume on their sites?
• If your resume is posted on the Internet, do you
  know when the resume will be removed from the site(s)?
  have all of your contact information included?

Google Yourself

• Have you used a search engine to see what information about you is available on the Internet?
• If you have, were you comfortable with what you found?

Social Network Sites

• Do you belong to a social networking site (e.g. Facebook or Friendster)?
• For each site you belong to, would you be comfortable if an employer were to see your
  Profile?
  Pictures?
  Groups?
  Friends’ Comments?
  Friends’ Profiles?

Personal Blog/Websites

• If you have your own web site or blog, would you be comfortable if a potential employer were to read its content?
• Have you ever discussed a company, interview, job, etc. on your blog or web site?
• Do you follow the “If you wouldn’t want to read it in the front page of the newspaper, don’t put it in an e-mail” rule?

Action Plan

• Consider the areas (Google, posted resumes, social networking sites, etc.) where you have identified potential problems.
• What could you fix immediately?
• What is going to take some research?
• What might take ongoing maintenance?
• Is there anything that you would like to discuss with Career Development Services?