Don't let Facebook ruin your Job Search

Sobering statistics...

• Approximately 77 percent of employers use search engines to evaluate candidates and about 35 percent of employers have actually eliminated a candidate based on information found on these sites. (Source)
• 1 in 5 employers uses sites like Facebook and MySpace, to research information on job candidates and to view how they project themselves. Almost 2/3 said their recruitment decisions were influenced by the contents of an individual's profile, while 1/4 said that they had changed their mind and decided not to hire someone because of what they found online. (Source)
• 4 out of 5 Facebook users keep the default privacy settings, which grant all users in their network access to their profile page. In the JMU network, that would mean unrestricted access to your profile for over 26,600 users. (Source)
• The average age of social networking website users is steadily increasing- a solid 39% of visitors to Facebook are 35 and older. (Source)

So if you have a Facebook or MySpace account, think about projecting a professional image when you start your job search. We recommend that you...

1. Look over your profile and delete anything questionable. Even though we'll go over how to change your privacy settings below, editing your profile can't hurt - just in case employers have found a loophole to view your information. You'll be glad that you've done so early on, because many new professionals find it necessary to edit their profile as they enter their first full-time position. (Source)
   Portions of your profile to consider deleting or editing include:
   -Religious views and political views (could lead to discrimination)
   -IM screen name (would allow employers to see your IM profile and away message)
   -Relationship status (it's illegal for employers to collect this information)
   -Inappropriate movies, music, TV shows, etc. (potentially controversial)
   -Inappropriate photos, videos, wall posts, etc. (potentially controversial)
   -Your profile photo (even if your profile is private, this will be visible to everyone)

2. Look over your friends' profiles for ways that you might be represented unprofessionally. It's not just your profile that you have to be concerned about- social networking sites reference you from your friends' pages as well. Review photos, videos, wall posts, etc. that include you and if anything is too revealing, untag yourself or ask your friend to delete that item.

3. Maintain control over new information. In MySpace you can choose to approve comments before they are posted to your page. In both MySpace and Facebook you can keep close tabs on new comments or photos via the email alerts that are sent to you. You can also choose to hide stories about your recent changes in Facebook's Mini-Feed. This will be an ongoing process, but it's important to monitor your profile regularly. And now that you're being more vigilant about what's public, consider sending messages directly to your friends instead of posting on their public wall.

4. Google yourself. Use multiple search engines to find out what employers might see when searching for your name, email address, screen name, and phone number. If you find information you feel could be detrimental to your candidacy or career, see about getting it removed- and make sure you have an answer ready to counter or explain "digital dirt." (Source) To find the author of a website that features information about you, use a WhoIs database. You can then contact the author and ask that the information be removed.

5. Consider removing Facebook applications. Other measures you might take to change your privacy settings usually do not apply to applications you have downloaded from third parties. Some applications will allow you to change your settings so that only friends see your information, but this option is not always available. The safest thing to do is remove questionable applications completely. Note: Just removing an application does not erase the information it has collected about you. So delete your history in an application, and then remove it from your profile.

6. Change your privacy settings. When you are logged in to Facebook, click privacy in the upper right hand corner. Your current settings will be displayed. The shorter the line next to each category, the more privacy you have requested.

   Facebook's privacy settings and options are constantly changing, but based on the current layout, here's what we would recommend for maximum privacy:
   

   Category	CAP recommends
   Profile	Choose "Only my friends" for all options on this page. Why? By default, Facebook allows all of your networks and all of your friends to be able to view your profile. As networks can contain thousands of people (and you have no control over who else joins the network), you are instantly revealing personal information to potential investigation by employers and identity theft if you leave this option at its default setting.
   Search	Which users can find me in a search? > Choose what's best for you. Why? It's okay to leave this fairly open, as long as you've restricted your profile in other ways, and you might still want old friends to be able to find you. Create a public search listing? > Leave unchecked. There's no reason to make your profile available to search engines. What can people do with my search results? > Uncheck "view my friends", "poke me", and "send me a message". Why? Because this either allows your profile to be viewed or allows people to find information about you via your friends' pages. People can still request you as a friend, and then communicate with you if they have been approved.
   News Feed and Mini-Feed	It's best to uncheck all boxes, so that stories are never published about your actions on Facebook. Also uncheck "show times in my Mini-Feed". Why? This means less work once you're monitoring your profile as is recommended in item 3 above.
   Poke, Message, and Friend Request	Uncheck all boxes except for basic info. Why? When you contact someone on Facebook via a poke, message or friend request, the recipient can view your profile temporarily, even if your other privacy settings would normally prevent them.
   Applications and Ads	This is where you can remove questionable applications. Also make sure to click on the privacy settings next to Photos and Notes so that they're limited to friends only. Why? See more information in item 5 above.
   External Websites	Check the box "Don't allow any websites to send stories to my profile." Why? You have even less control over your identity management when third party websites are involved.

   (Source)

7. Is there an easier way? Yes- if you're not part of any network (example: JMU, Washington DC, etc.) on Facebook, then the default privacy settings are such that only your friends can see your profile. To leave a network, when you're logged in to Facebook click Account > Networks > Leave Network next to the Network name. (There are some drawbacks to this approach, as it makes it harder for you to find friends at your institution, and you can't view school events, etc.) If this doesn't sound like a good trade-off, consider editing your profile as described above.