Facebook and a Professional Image

whodunit · #1 01/16/14, 06:45 AM

I am in school and looking to eventually work in a more professional field, so I am taking a look at my image.

I just got some advice from someone to change my email address with is not professional, so I am going to do that. He also suggested a LinkedIn, so I am working my way through that even though I don't really understand it fully.

I have been thinking about Facebook recently. Although I am fairly careful of what I post, I have friends, family and associates who are not. I wonder how this reflects on me if a future employer should request access. I don 't want to debate whether they have a right to.

I have thought of a few options. 1) start a new "professional" page where I only allow people related to "professional" endeavors, i.e. not friends and family. 2) "sanitize" my current page. 3) give up Facebook completely.

Any thoughts, ideas, abusive remarks?

CraterCove · #2 01/16/14, 07:51 AM

I have my close friends and family facebook and my church safe and business facebook.

I don't see a problem with it. If people are going to be snoopy and try and use what others do against you? Then why not just make sure they only see what you want them to?

Melissa · #3 01/16/14, 08:01 AM

You can change your settings on facebook so you can review and then approve anything that another wants to post to your timeline. If you are concerned about others posting possibly inappropriate photos/jokes/links etc... to your page this might be a good idea.

unregistered358967 · #4 01/16/14, 08:02 AM

I choose 3, but hear me out. I don't have a FB account for this reason mainly. I know businesses who are interviewing people scour the internet for info. Is it right? Hard to say. I have a friend who's in charge of hiring and she does look for FB accounts for clues..are there pictures plastered of the person constantly drinking? Accounts of the person doing things that wouldn't make them a good match for a company? While I don't necessarily agree with someone snooping around for info, I do think they have the right to try to see if they should move forward with hiring a person, based on what their lifestyle seems to be on FB. That said, if it's a basic page with not much info and a few pictures of you and your family, it probably wouldn't an issue to a future employer...but is your page like that? If not, I'd just wipe it clean and go with 3.

However, I'm a pretty private person so take this with a grain of salt.

rkintn · #5 01/16/14, 08:15 AM

I would have a Facebook page just for work safe stuff and then I would lock down my other, more personal page where anyone who was snooping around wouldn't be able to see what was on it. It will probably take some time to do, as you will have to go back through pictures and stuff that are already posted but it can be done. To give you a good starting point, go to your page (not the newsfeed) and do the "view page as" option and choose public. That will show you what just some random joe schmoe can see when they search for and find your page.

CraterCove · #6 01/16/14, 08:21 AM

Problem with 3 is, if there is stuff about you on facebook and you opt out then how do you know what's there for someone snooping around to find?

sidepasser · #7 01/16/14, 09:30 AM

Just set your FB page to private and then set what your friends and family post to be subject to review. I do not allow "tagged" posts or photos on my timeline without personally reviewing them. I also edit my page frequently and will hit the "spam" button so I don't get ads very often.

You can shut down FB to the point where only those you choose to allow can even see the page or post on it. My settings are such that friends of friends can not post on my page. I review the settings monthly to make sure that nothing has changed.

Linkedin is a professional site. Do NOT use it like Facebook. Only post things related to your school/work such as "Graduated Magna Cum Laude today from XYZ University" or accepted job as President of XYZ Company and looking forward to assuming new position. People also will ask for referrals/references on Linkedin. If you do not personally know the person, decline. Your integrity is worth more than racking up referrals on Linkedin. People are suspicious if you just started out and you have 200 referrrals already.

Join groups that are related to your field and participate in question/answer discussions occasionally. This builds your credibility and the people involved will get to "know" you. This is part of networking. Don't join 20 groups though, you won't have time for that many, be choosy and only join groups that are active and directly related to your field or a field you are interested in pursuing.

Jobs - there are a LOT of jobs on linkedin and many people use that site to find work. You can see how you are related to people in a given company by your linkedin "friends". that can give you an edge up if you have a relationship with someone at the company that is hiring. You can PM the person and inquire about the working conditions, state of business, whether the company promotes from within, etc. Very useful tool to have.

Treat Linkedin as your professional space and facebook as your personal space.

I hope this helps and if you have questions about Linkedin, PM me and I will try to help.

Ozarks Tom · #8 01/16/14, 10:02 AM

I read recently some companies are asking for your facebook password in order to be considered for a job. Doesn't sound right, but apparently it does happen.

simi-steading · #9 01/16/14, 10:07 AM

I've enjoyed my life a whole lot without having a FB account.. I never have to worry about what a potential employer may think about me by looking at my FB page..

whodunit · #10 01/17/14, 10:12 AM

Thanks, all. Great advice.

I am working on my LinkedIn and removed a few people I did not personally know. I wonder, though, might this limit my exposure. I seem to have a bit of a time navigating the site to update my information but I think over time I can get it down. I am still not sure how it works or what the benefits are.

As far as Facebook, I think I like the idea of approving timeline stuff. Again, my technological skills are sometimes lacking and the times I have tried to make things more private I find Facebook tends to make it very difficult.

The idea of a second account appeals to me but then I would have to explain why I only allowed a potential employer access to it and not both.