Job Application Problems Giving You a Headache?
There is no doubt that social networking sites like Facebook and Friendster are the biggest trends in the internet today. These sites provide people an outlet to express themselves and interact with other people, whether they personally know or not. As a matter of fact, it’s so popular that the two sites are even included in this year’s 20 Most Popular Websites in the Philippines.
But like any public sites, you can’t really be sure about who views your profile. While you can easily set your settings to private so that only your direct connections can see your profile pages, a lot of people’s careers have been compromised because they have been too lax with the kind of information they chose to put in their profile pages.
Remember that there are some companies who do a background check by viewing their applicants’ profiles in networking sites such as Facebook and Friendster. After all, it’s their prerogative on how they want to conduct a background check, through whatever means possible.
If you are serious about your job hunting and want to make sure to impress your employers and whoever it is you are going to face during the interview, remember that the internet is a public space. Whatever it is posted in your profile or blog is viewable by the public. And other people may and will use the data they find on you for their own purposes. Make sure that you haven’t ranted and said mean things about a particular company or disclosed information you are not supposed to. These careless actions can turn off your potential employers.
Is Viewing Friendster, Facebook and Myspace Profiles Valid Reasons for a Company to Not Hire Someone?
While it can greatly affect the employer’s impression of the applicant, it should be noted that not everything you read on the internet should be believed immediately, unless there’s a good reason for you to do so. A background check using social networking sites serves more of a preliminary evaluation for employers to find out if you have the attitude and the right character for the kind of office culture and environment they have.
The bottom line is, you should be responsible for whatever content you decide to put in your Friendster or Facebook profiles. Posting a picture of you drunk and wasted with a celebrity may look cool to your friends and might even be enviable, but it definitely won’t impress your employer. If you want to start you career on the right path, it’s important to learn how to be responsible for all your actions. Don’t post anything in public something that you don’t want potential employers to see.
