Six career killers on Facebook

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I know many Aussies who read my blog don’t love social media like I do, for job hunting at least. I know this because I’ve had clients ask me if I tweet about eating spaghetti bolognaise.  I did a radio interview recently on social media and job hunting and the producer asked me before the show if I tweeted about eating a hamburger. (For the record, I do eat, but I don’t tweet what I eat), unless it was exceptionally good and I want to say thank you to the chef!)

Yes I am a big fan of social media because if you manage what you do, and you do it well, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter can help you find your next job. From a job hunting perspective, even for me, having this blog, and tweeting regularly, has landed me some big and totally unexpected opportunities from big and totally unexpected directions. In short I’ve been headhunted.

If you do want to use social media, you do need to be educated about how you use these tools. This article: “six career killing Facebook mistakes” popped up in my inbox today, listing career killer moves on Facebook.  These are:

–  Posting inappropriate pictures

–  Complaining about your current job

–  Posting conflicting information to your resume

–  Statuses you wouldn’t want your boss to see

–  Not understanding your security settings

–  Losing by association: what your friends post on your profile

I had a depressing conversation with a headhunter recently and asked him how he used Facebook.  He said he started one search on Facebook and eliminated someone immediately from his shortlist because of a profile photo they had of themselves. He didn’t look at their page. He didn’t look at their status updates. He didn’t look at the company they kept. He just looked at their photo.

Scary stuff and so many question marks!

The writers of the article suggest:

“The best advice is to lock down your personal profile so that only friends you approve can see anything on that profile. Then, create a second, public profile on Facebook purely for professional use. This profile functions like an online resume, and should only contain information you’d be comfortable telling your potential employer face to face. Having a social networking profile is a good thing: it presents you as technologically and professionally savvy. Just make sure your profile is helping to present your best side, not the side that got drunk at your buddy’s New Year’s party”.

PS: Anyone interested in whether Australian job seekers are using social media – read this article from Destination Talent’s Phillip Tusing.

K B

Karalyn is the Founder of InterviewIQ and chief champion for all her clients. Get personal coaching to make 2023 your most successful year yet. Check out our job search booster services here>>Give me smarter ways to find a job .

Tagged as: manage your online profile, social media mastery