‘Poked’ by Your Employer:
How Facebook Can Make or Break Your Job Search
By Kelsey Ebben, Associate Director for Career Development

Flash forward to May of senior year. You’ve just been notified you’re a finalist for an exciting job position. Things are looking great until your prospective employer logs onto Facebook and peruses your spring break party photos. Somewhat appalled, she continues clicking and notices your membership in the Albion chapters of groups like “It’s five o’ clock somewhere,” and “Intramural drinking.” Suddenly your candidacy takes a turn for the worst.

Welcome to the new reality of the job search process. A recent National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) survey reported that 34.6% of employers use search engines such as Google to research candidates, and 11.5% currently use online networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, with 7 percent more planning to utilize this technology in future searches.  Also in the survey, 78% of employers indicated that what they saw about candidates on online networking sites influenced their decisions when making job offers.

Overwhelmingly, employers viewed comments about drinking, drug use, and sexual exploits as immature and unprofessional. Many also questioned whether students’ values matched those of their organization. “Five minutes on a candidate’s social networking profile can often provide more information about his or her judgment than an hour talking with a carefully chosen reference,” said Kimberly Shea and Jill Wesley of NACE.

Many students believe employers cannot obtain access to Facebook because members can only join with a valid college email address. Thus, they believe information will only be visible to other college students. However, The New York Times reported that “Companies can gain access to the information in several ways. Employees who are recent graduates often retain their college email addresses, which enable them to see pages. Sometimes, too, companies ask college students working as interns to perform online background checks.”

Of course, this does not mean that you should abandon Facebook and other online social networks. They provide fun ways to meet people and catch up with friends. But with a little extra care, you can avoid missing out on great job or internship opportunities. NACE experts recommend college students review the following checklist to make Facebook pages and other online social network pages more acceptable to employers. Here’s how to take action to clean up your online identity and increase your chances of landing that dream job or internship:

·         Use a formal email address, such as your Albion address, rather than humorous email addresses.

·         Google yourself from time to time. Are you comfortable with the information about yourself available on the World Wide Web?

·         If you are a member of Facebook, check your profile, photos, groups, friends’ profiles, and friends’ comments on your wall. Remove anything you would be uncomfortable sharing with an employer.

·         Finally, review your blog entries. Would you be comfortable letting an employer read them? Also, remember to avoid writing about companies, interviews, and job applications on your blog…if it’s out there, it’s all fair game.

Finder, A. (2006, June 11). When a risqué online persona undermines a chance for a job. The New York Times, 1.

Shea, K., & Wesley, J. (2006). How social networking sites affect employers, students, and career services. NACE Journal.