by Rosette Pyne
It won’t be long before Penn students are enjoying all the activities associated with Spring Fling…free food, games, live music, singing, dancing, concert at Franklin Field, partying and so much more. Did I say partying???
Of course, everyone has a phone and there will be hundreds (thousands?) of pictures taken over the two days. Many of those pics will be instantly uploaded to Facebook and viewed by friends, family and dare I say prospective employers? I’m sure your photos will capture all the excitement and fun of the events and they will capture you. They may even capture you in questionable and unflattering situations. Not a good idea if you’re looking for a job – this year, next year, anytime. A 2010 survey conducted by Vault .com 10 Things You Need to Know About Social Media for Your Job Search showed that more than one-third of the employers responding check a candidate’s social media presence. This includes LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook! 60% of the employers suggested students hide their personal pictures. I also suggest you hide your pictures and delete any offensive wall posts, even if you didn’t write them yourself.
You want to be certain there isn’t anything on Facebook that would prompt an employer to remove you from the prospective candidate pool, or withdraw an existing offer. When in doubt, err on the side of caution.
Now You Know! Have a great time celebrating one of Penn’s traditions 🙂
Fortunately, Facebook and other players in the social media arena are starting to here the cries for more privacy from the half of the population that desire it. However, nothing, absolutely nothing is truly hidden if it goes digital.
From experience, we do lose jobs simply from what is on our profiles on the various social networking sites. And not simply from photos that are too wild, but by any type of prejudice that the decision maker finds piqued by our profile.