As Google searches become a routine aspect of the interview process, it has become crucial for job seekers to know and control what information employers will be able to access about you. In particular, Facebook profiles seem to land a lot of candidates in hot water - virtually everyone has a Facebook account, and Facebook's ever-shifting privacy policies make your "private" information difficult to control. In this post, I will discuss some common "Facebook Follies," and then I will discuss how you can avoid them.
Facebook Folly #1: Inappropriate Photos
Look through the photos that you have posted or in which you are tagged on Facebook. If you see any of the following, you may be in trouble:
- Drinking/partying/drug use
- Swimsuit shots
- Silly faces, in particular any photos with your tongue hanging out
- Sexually suggestive photos or facial expressions
- Political activities or statements
- Religious activities (employers cannot legally discriminate on this basis, but you may wish to keep the information private)
- Anything that could be perceived as racist, sexist, etc.
- Family or wedding photos (if you do not want the employer to know your marital status, etc. - while it is illegal for an employer to discriminate on this basis, some employers may be biased against women who have or may have children)
Facebook Folly #2: Distasteful Comments
I am not only referring to your own comments, but also to any comments posted by friends on your wall. Remove anything that could be seen as inflammatory or inappropriate, or anything that might reveal sensitive information about you such as religion, marital status, political affiliations, etc.
Facebook Folly #3: Membership in Groups or "Favorites"
If you are a member of any Facebook groups, make sure they do not reveal anything you wouldn't want an employer to know. For example, the "Fordham Alumni Association" group is probably appropriate to include; the "People for the Legalization of Marijuana" group may not be so appropriate. Do the same for your "likes" - make sure they do not include musicians, comedians, movies, etc. that could be seen as inflammatory or that put you in a bad light (for example, listing Insane Clown Posse as a "Favorite" may not project the professional image you are going for).
So how do you go about managing your Facebook profile to ensure that nothing on your profile will raise red flags for an employer? One option is to go through and curate everything carefully - remove questionable posts, untag yourself from unflattering photos, remove yourself from groups that might raise issues, etc. But this is very time consuming, and because your friends can post or tag you in a photo anytime, you would need to be constantly on top of things.
Thus, the best way to ensure that an employer does not see anything untoward is to adjust your privacy settings to the highest settings possible. Because Facebook's pages are constantly changing, I will not be giving specific instructions here, but go into your settings and look at every option available, then Google yourself on a public terminal or a friend's computer to see what comes up. If anything comes up that shouldn't be public, go back and adjust your settings until all your personal information is private. Remember that your profile photo generally cannot be made private, so be sure to use a photo that is simple and tasteful - with none of the items listed in Folly #1.
Also, because Facebook's privacy policies change frequently, it is a good idea to Google yourself about once a week to make sure your profile remains private. With a little time and care, you can avoid being "Facebooked out" of a job opportunity.
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