JOANN ANDERSON

Your Facebook can hinder job chances

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Posted: 10/16/07

Ah, the Facebook profile - the college student mecca for socializing, career networking, poking and picture-posting. Well, you can add "career-staller" to that list, too.

With the freedom of expression that comes with Internet outlets like Facebook and MySpace, you can broadcast your face and personality to the world - but expression that is too free can sideline you in the post-college job hunt.

More employers are becoming increasingly Internet-savvy, and they're not just relying on your pristine resume and recommendations when they assess you as a potential employee. They want more personal information and are willing to check Facebook, MySpace and other cyberspace sources to get to know the real you.

Don't think this won't apply to you. As CNN reported, Facebook soon will be adding a public search feature that will allow anyone to find your user profile on search engines like Yahoo and Google.

Those pictures from a wild birthday downtown? They look great when you show them off to friends, but they don't look so hot when brought up in a job interview. Your listed interests in Jack Daniels or membership in groups like "I fall down when I'm drunk" or "I Celebrate 4/20"? OK, you get my point.

I'm appalled by how many friends haven't altered their profiles in case someone important to their futures might be looking.

As a junior majoring in newspapers, I'm already feeling the pressures to network for a post-college job. And like many college students in America, I have a Facebook account. And I also know even a hint of reckless behavior on my profile could kill my chances.

As The New York Times warned, even the best resume can be overshadowed by something a recruiter finds on the Internet.

Employers told The Times such information was in the public arena and, as one college career resource director put it, "There are lots of employers that Google. Now they've taken the next step."

One of my friends experienced this kind of background check during an interview for a prestigious internship.

Her Facebook profile didn't offer any offensive insight to her personality - her favorite show listed was "Little House on the Prairie" - but she still was surprised her profile was brought out from the dark closets of Internet anonymity and scrutinized intensely.

Sure, express yourself on your personal Web sites.

But if you're serious about finding a post-college career (and you should be - after all, isn't that why you're here in the first place?), ensure the stupidity of your college youth doesn't jeopardize your adult potential.

A few tips:

• Block or un-tag your pictures. If there's even a slight chance you'll be embarrassed by these pictures in a couple of years, block them.

• Edit your interests. Sure, you love partaking in all that downtown has to offer. And you might think you're funny and claim you're into money laundering and pyromania. Having to explain such a joke to a potential employer makes it less funny. List just your less-controversial interests.

• Mind your group membership. Be careful of groups you might join because what you think is funny can be interpreted differently by a potential employer.

These precautions won't guarantee you a great job after college.

But it's better to save face now on Facebook than having to explain major goofiness during a job interview.

I'm sure your future self will thank you for it.

- JoAnn Anderson is the Opinions editor of The Red & Black.